Days of Hope
by Nightlyy
Summary: Minato stopped The Fall and gave hope to the world. Souji saved Inaba and gave hope to the city. Elizabeth freed Minato and gave hope to the Messiah. His return gave hope to his friends and family. A godlike entity isn't pleased with the turn of events and decides to intervene. P3/P4 crossover. College setting. Minato x Elizabeth. Souji x Margaret. Hamuko x Theo. PSA:Discontinued.
1. Prologue

**Iwatodai Dorm, 2013.**

The alarm bell rang, promoting a tired groan from a certain redhead who was wrapped up in blankets. She turned it off and changed her position, hoping to get a few more hours of sleep.

She wasn't bothered by the rumblings and shouting going on downstairs, being a heavy sleeper helped in cases like this.

"Hamuko-senpai!" someone called out to her but she ignored it once again.

"Go away..." Hamuko muttered, changing her position once again.

And someone started banging on her door, determined to knock the sleep away. Hamuko gritted her teeth, trying to ignore the sounds once again, hoping it would lessen but that didn't happen and they only increased in intensity.

"Wake up!" the male voice called out once again.

"Why that little..." Hamuko scowled and got up, glaring the most intense of glares at the door which was getting pounded right now. She stomped her way over to it and smashed the door open, revealing herself to the male outside.

"Aww shit!" the gray haired male quickly whipped around since Hamuko had a camisole on, plus she looked pissed beyond belief.

"That's what you get for knocking on someone's door on the girl's floor," Hamuko yelled at him. "Go away Souji, let me sleep."

"Put something on first," Souji mumbled, his back facing the senior.

"Go away first," Hamuko shot back.

"Senpai, you've missed tons of days already," Souji sighed.

"College," Hamuko shrugged. She could get away, unlike High School.

"You have a test today, don't miss out," Souji reminded.

"... I didn't know that," Hamuko blinked.

"Figures," the junior muttered under his breath.

"Get your ass downstairs, no males allowed," Hamuko yelled once again. "Why didn't the girls wake me up?"

"Well..." Souji still wasn't facing the female. "I lost the bet..."

"Like I'm some kind of demon..." Hamuko mumbled before letting out an exasperated sigh. "Alright, I'll be there. Get the hell away from this floor. No males allowed."

Souji Seta snickered, his work was done. "I'll see you downstairs then, senpai." with that, he hotfooted away.

Hamuko released another sigh and rested her back against the door. "Coming back was the worst idea ever..." she had been in Iwatodai for over a year and couldn't sleep properly for even one night. She didn't blame it on the nosy dorm mates, but something entirely different.

"Why don't I go back?" Hamuko questioned, taking out some casual clothes from the closet and walking towards the shower, hoping it would knock the lingering sleep that still persisted.

...

"Dude, she up yet?" Junpei asked Souji the moment he stepped foot in the lounge.

"Yeah," Souji replied, getting back to finishing his toast.

"That was quick," Yosuke commented.

"... Next time, it would be better if the bet is between girls only," Souji sighed, pulling on his collar.

"I sense something spicy," Junpei leaned closer. "Give me all the details, now!"

"Senpai, you do know that she's a legit martial artist, right?" Yosuke rolled his eyes.

"Who cares? She isn't here," the capped teen grinned. "What happened, bro?"

"Well, she sleeps in a camisole," Souji sighed, his brow twitching at the fact that Junpei's grin was widening with his every word. "So I got to know her favorite color."

"Shit!" Yosuke gasped.

"What is it!?" Junpei balled his fist up. "Don't stop before the climax!"

"..." the juniors cringed at his words. While Junpei was a senior to them, they were close enough to engage in man-to-man talk, steamy and spicy man-to-man talk.

"Pervert as always!" the voice came from behind her and upon hearing that, Junpei quickly pulled back, crossing his arms.

"You should be more respectful, dude,"

The gray haired junior rolled his eyes. "I'll try to be more like you then."

The brunette behind them laughed. "Stupei, you never change."

"Everyone loves little, old me," Junpei took a sip of tea.

"So bad that its so good," Yukari teased, typing furiously on her cell phone.

"I resent that!" Junpei cried.

"I say it again, you two look like a married couple every now and then," Yosuke repeated, causing the female to look at the male with her brows furrowed.

"I'll say it again as well, the idea of Junpei and me dating is..." she tried to formulate something but couldn't come up with anything. "UGH! Hell I don't even know. No comparable word in our language for that."

"Hilarious couple," Yosuke added.

"I ship it," Souji shrugged.

"You shut your mouth!" Yukari was getting flustered. "Let me revise the test!"

"On your cell phone, Yuka-tan?" Junpei teased with a wink.

"Do something productive... like preparing yourself!" Yukari yelled at him. She pointed at Souji who was studying as he ate. "Like him! learn from your juniors, Stupei."

Junpei shrugged. "I don't care too much about studying. I just want to be a pro baseball player," the capped teen fist pumped. "I promised my bro and it will be done."

Yukari snickered. "Minato also prayed that YOU would get top ten once in your life."

Souji and Yosuke decided to keep quiet since Minato was a rather touchy subject for most of the seniors.

"... Minato?" Souji cringed at the voice, it was emotionless and void and he never liked that. The gray haired male slowly turned around to see Hamuko standing on the steps, in a over sized tee shirt and some baggy jeans.

"Oh no.." Yosuke muttered under his breath. The mood just took a nosedive.

"Oh shit!" Junpei panicked.

"H-Hamuko!" Yukari yelped, rushing over to her friend.

Hamuko took a deep breath and held out a hand to stop her. "I'm fine..." she muttered, smiling slightly. "It has been a while... and time heals the wounds.."

"You're shaking," Yosuke pointed. "Someone get her a glass of water, dammit."

Souji did so and Hamuko took a few sips. "Sorry guys.." she sighed. "I know it is embarrassing but I..." she trailed off.

"Don't worry," Yukari gazed at her shoes. "None of us have really recovered.."

Junpei sighed and lowered his cap. He couldn't repair the mood this time.

"..."

"... Let's go, yeah?" Hamuko shook her head. "I need some help on the questions since I didn't revise for shit."

"I'll help you," Yukari regained her smile and the two females walked out of the dorm together.

"She's gotten better," Souji noted, flipping another page. "I don't know who Minato was... but he sure had an impact on people."

"Yeah," Yosuke agreed. "And he was her cousin.." he cringed.

"He was one hell of a guy," Junpei remembered fondly. "For some reason," he turned around to face the gray haired junior. "You remind me of him."

"Me?" Souji blinked, pointing a finger at himself.

"You look nothing like him but I don't know man," Junpei laughed. "Just a feeling. I'm sure if you two ever met, you'd be best buds."

"He's one hell of a guy as well," Yosuke snickered, elbowing his friend in the rib.

"I can see that," Junpei agreed with a nod. "Anyway boys, we better get moving. This is college but you still gotta study."

The two juniors rolled their eyes once again. "Look who is talking..."

"I resent that!" the capped teen cried once more.

...

Elizabeth giggled slightly as Erebus withered away into black-red mist. For some reason, the creature was growing weaker and weaker. It pleased the former attendant of the Velvet Room, seemed like mankind was indeed changing.

Anxiety and panic struck Elizabeth as she gazed at the statue chained on top of the gigantic golden gate, The Great Seal.

"No," Elizabeth shook her head, opening the compendium with a determined look. "I will not falter.." she swore.

"My dear guest," Elizabeth whispered. "I am terribly sorry for the delay," she smiled once again. "Let us depart to your true destination."

The compendium in her grasp rumbled slightly.

"Come forth," she called.

Flash of pale blue light.

It was followed by a painfully long and deep breath.

* * *

 **Another test fic. Basically a rewrite of the crappy days of snow. *looks back* boy, it was disorganized as fuck. I turned it kinda too crack-ish and welp, there was no way I could turn it around and there is no way in hell that I will let my OTP fic die that horribly, so here we are : Days of Hope p3/4 crossover. This won't be as funny and crack-ish as DoS, there will be humor but it won't overdone.**

 **Like again, just a preview, tell me if I should continue this or just kill the thing already. :P**

 **See you soo- welp, all depends on you.**


	2. Resurrection

**Gekkoukan College.**

"We got a class, mate,"

"Meh, let's bunk it and smoke for a bit,"

"Sounds like a plan,"

Souji sighed and walked past the delinquent group of seniors. "College after all," he muttered, stopping at the noticeboard, looking for his next lecture. He let out a sigh. "Physics... great."

"Hey!" the gray haired Fool whipped around and waved at a familiar brunette making her way towards him.

"Hey Chie," Souji smiled. "How you doing?"

"I barely got here in time," Chie panted slightly.

"Doesn't happen with me," Souji replied, remembering the ruckus that occurs nearly every morning. "We've got some great alarm clocks..."

"Hahaha," Chie laughed. "At least time is going well, right?"

"It sure is," Souji smiled again. "Can't believe we're attending the same college in a place like Iwatodai."

"Scholarships," Chie replied. "The sky is the limit."

Souji fished his cellphone out. "Ugh, where is Yosuke? The lecture is like minutes away." he cried.

"Uh..." Chie rubbed the back of her neck. "... I saw him with Junpei-senpai near the cafeteria.."

Souji's expression soured. He cancelled the message and pocketed his cell phone once again. "Well then, lecture awaits."

"Have fun," Chie grinned. "I'll be joining them for steak." with that, she ran away.

"No running in the halls!" Souji yelled at her retreating figure and got an earful from the discipline in charge for yelling in the halls. With that, the gray haired junior stepped into the class, receiving numerous greetings which he returned with a smile on his face.

...

Junpei waved Yosuke off but ended up snickering. He was over 10 minutes later for his lecture and there was no way the teacher would let him in. "See you in like 5 minutes.." the capped teen leaned back on the cafeteria seat.

"Well, well," Junpei grinned his trademark smile, observing a very familiar silver haired boxer sulking around the cafeteria. "Yo, Akihiko!" he called, causing the former senior of his to slowly turn around before fixing a glare on the capped teen.

"Akihiko-senpai," Akihiko balled his fist up.

"Which year are you in again, Akihiko?" Junpei teased.

"I was doing something productive, dammit," Akihiko shot back. "I vowed to learn those moves ever since I watched that movie with Minato."

"And those moves didn't help when you got mauled by a bear,"

"I killed that damn thing!"

"And got sent back a year too!" Junpei clapped, obviously mocking his classmate.

"Shut up!" Akihiko yelled once again and Junpei proceeded to laugh his ass off.

"Come on Akibro," Junpei patted him on the back. "We've got a class together."

Akihiko started to make his way for the lecture.

"Despite you being a year older than me," Junpei snarked once again, making a vein throb on the boxer's forehead.

"... Just get into the damn class," Akihiko sighed, rubbing his temples.

...

"So it goes like this..." Hamuko said slowly, her brow twitching at the numerous complex formulas and equations that she had to learn. "And the experiment is..." she flipped the page over and groaned. "So many steps..."

Yukari sighed. "Well, you gotta roll with it. Nothing much you can do."

"I'm gonna fail," Hamuko's head met the desk. "For the first time in my life!"

"Don't think like that," Yukari consoled her. "I've heard you always topped before, I'm sure you'll come out on top again."

Hamuko released a sorrowful sigh, burying her head into her arms. "... It was different. Life was easy and I could concentrate fully, but now..." she sighed again. "I'm kinda like... unmotivated about everything."

Yukari winced. She patted Hamuko on the head. "I can understand..." she muttered. "Minato had such an impact on people, even strangers and you both were cousins..."

"Only cousins," Hamuko corrected. "The next generation of our family... and there is only me left now."

"... I'm sorry," Yukari hung her head low.

"Let's revise once again," Hamuko suggested. "Gets my mind off stuff." her brunette friend nodded at her suggestion.

Hamuko had transferred into Gekkoukan High School just because of her cousin, her only cousin. She came waltzing into the dorm with a huge grin on the first day and kept yelling at Minato to come out and giver her a tour... but he didn't. Mitsuru was extremely hesitant on telling her what happened but she gathered up her courage and finally told Hamuko that her cousin had passed away not too long ago.

Hamuko took a minute to let the entire thing sink in and when it did so, the auburn haired girl shouted on top of her lungs in pure sorrow and pain. She cussed him out a couple of times and eventually broke down, shaking and sobbing violently, it was accompanied by occasional screaming and begging for Minato to come back. The rest watched on with a grimace until Hamuko finally passed out from the stress and sorrow.

She was hospitalized for a few days and when she woke up, Hamuko was totally devoid of life and passion. She barely made her way through mid-terms of her senior year and usually just slept the entire day. However, the members of SEES began to bond with her, especially the females. They made her stay and hanging out with them, Hamuko's pain slowly began to lessen, although quite a bit remained.

Yukari cringed upon remembering the heartbreaking ordeal. She reached out and patted her on the head again. "... She is all that is left of Minato..."

"I'm trying to study here, dammit," Hamuko groaned.

Yukari retracted her hand with a giggle. "Sorry."

...

...

"Aww man, I can't believe he made me do 50 push-ups for being 10 minutes late!" Yosuke groaned.

Souji shot him a dirty look. "10 minutes late. Repeat that once again."

Yosuke sighed. "Alright but dude, Junpei-senpai and me had some business to take care of."

"I'm sure," Souji rolled his eyes as the two juniors walked around the campus. "Well, we're free. Wanna do something?"

"Sure, I really don't want to head back to the dorm right now," Yosuke fist pumped. "Dude, we still have so many places to check out."

"Sup guys?" Junpei jumped from the top of the stairs and landed right in front of his two junior friends. "If you're going to Hagakure, then count me in! and my CLASSMATE as well."

Akihiko sulked his way out of the building. "Shut up already!" he repeated, before looking at the two. "How you guys doing? I don't have boxing practice today so yeah, I'll come."

"We'll be going along with you then!" Yukari stepped outside with Hamuko since they finished the quiz rather quickly. "But how in hell are you two out here? Don't you have class?"

Junpei grinned and swung his arm around Akihiko who looked annoyed once again. "Me and Akihiko bunked the class. Pretty badass, huh?"

Hamuko rolled her eyes. "You too, Akihiko? I'm disappointed."

"Hey! He pulled me into this," Akihiko defended himself.

"Bad example,"

"Will you miss boxing practice too?"

"For shame,"

"Cut me some slack! I got mauled by a bear!" Akihiko growled, cracking his knuckles.

"Boxers don't do well on the ground you know?" Hamuko smirked. "And they certainly can't check leg kicks. Stop sulking and pull out the cash!"

"Why me!?" Akihiko threw his hands up.

"You're our senpai," everyone spoke in unison and Akihiko tried to come up with something, but he gave up and told the rest to follow him.

...

Elizabeth smiled fondly as she leaned over the unusually pale blunette who was panting very hard. Minato underwent an insane amount of pressure and magic, so much so that his blood was running cold right now, but he was breathing... and he was alive.

"Welcome," Elizabeth smiled and bowed, like she usually did whenever he entered the Velvet Room. "You have reached your true destination."

"... Elizabeth?" Minato couldn't believe it, but he was talking! The words came out of his mouth and it was a miracle!

"Yes," Elizabeth smiled softly, sitting next to him. "Elizabeth from the Velvet Room."

"I-I know..." Minato replied, he had hung around with her a few times, mainly in the Malls but then stuff started piling up and he didn't see much of her, except when using the compendium. "I remember everything..."

"I'm happy to hear that," Elizabeth giggled. "You've been resurrected, with all the fond memories that you cherished so much."

Minato's body temperature returned to normal and his breathing settled down. "What about the Seal..." he trailed off.

"The Seal will not be broken," Elizabeth replied. "I assure you. Please live the life that was taken away too soon."

"T-Thank you.." Minato slowly stood up and faced the female with a genuine smile. "I don't know how you did it and why you did it, but I'm so happy right now..."

"I blame you," Elizabeth pouted. "You developed such deep bonds with your comrades that it pained me to see them wallow in grief, constantly begging you to return. I must say, it came very close into rendering me to tears."

Minato laughed slightly. "My friends..." he remembered fondly. "I still remember each and every memory as if it happened yesterday." something hit him. "Wait... what about my body!?"

"Do not worry," Elizabeth gave him a grin. "The soul matters far more than flesh. You will be able to walk among the living once again."

"... What about you?" Minato questioned.

Elizabeth smiled once again. "I've exhausted myself quite a bit. I will regain my power sometime in the future."

"Where do you go from here?"

"We Avatars of Power are bound to the Velvet Room with a contract, much like you were," Elizabeth explained. "However, I decided to reject it so I could rescue you from the Seal." she giggled. "No gratitude is necessary."

"You did that for me?" Minato blinked. He didn't even know her that well... except that she smiled a lot and ate more than him.

"Yes," Elizabeth replied simply.

Minato realized that he was naked on the sand, with only a towel covering him up. The Messiah yelped and suddenly grew very conscious that a really cute female was sitting inches away from him.

Elizabeth was amused by this. She snapped her fingers, and Minato instantly found himself in blue clothes... much like the Theo guy from the Velvet Room. He had run into him a few times, along with his stern elder sister.

Minato's blush dissipated and he calmed down. "Where do you go from here?"

Elizabeth gave a tired smile this time. "I do not know. Whatever destiny has in packs for me..." Minato blinked and so did Elizabeth. "Um, packs? shop... Not quite right," she tapped her chin with a finger. "Ah yes, whatever destiny has in store for me."

Minato snickered and grabbed a hold of her wrist. "You gave me hope," he stood up. "I don't want to see my savior disappear into obscurity, and because of that... you will come with me."

Elizabeth's golden eyes flickered. "... With you?"

"You always were enticed with how we lived, right?" Minato tugged on her hand. "Then I'll return the favor and bring you into the real world and I'll take care of everything, I promise!" he swore.

Elizabeth remained silent.

Minato sweat dropped and let go of her hand. "Um, sorry?" he muttered, thinking he got out of the line.

He was caught off guard as Elizabeth began bouncing up and down in joy, extremely happy about his suggestion. "Wonderful!" she cheered. "I will finally experience human life without being confined in that room."

Minato regained his smile. "Yeah, and I hope you'll enjoy the new way of life." he tried to take a step forward but nearly tripped since he was stuck in the same position for nearly 3 years.

Elizabeth caught him from falling. "Careful, my dear guest," she helped him walk, although she was panting herself.

"Are you okay?" Minato asked.

"Just exhausted," Elizabeth giggled.

Minato forcefully made his limbs cooperate, he didn't want Elizabeth to carry him all the way towards his friends. "I can do this," he chanted, taking a step forward. "Let's go, our new life awaits."

Soon, the two reached a blue door. Minato briefly questioned whether it lead to the Velvet Room but Elizabeth dismissed that hypothesis and it was merely a passage to the desert. Minato took a deep breath and turned on the knob, experiencing a jolt of pain race around his body and an extremely bright flash of blue light.

"Dammit," he muttered as his consciousness slowly began slipping away and soon, he blackened out.

...

Minato jerked awake, his blood running cold once again but he was still breathing. He placed a hand on his chest to double check and sure enough, it was beating. "YES!" the Messiah fist pumped. He couldn't believe it, but he was in the living world once again, and his friends were waiting for him.

Minato tried to stand up but fell right back on the ground. Someone had a grip around his arm. He jerked his head towards to the other side and smiled to himself, Elizabeth was holding onto his hand, curled up and sleeping peacefully.

Minato pushed his bangs out of his his eyes and looked around. He was in the cemetery near the Shrine. He looked further and caught his parents tombstone. "I'm back now..." Minato whispered. "Arisato family will not die.." he looked back to observe his own tombstone.

"Minato Arisato, a dear friend," he read loud. "1994-2010." the Messiah twirled around grabbed a hold of Elizabeth, lifting her up with no difficulty because she was exceedingly light.

Minato smiled at her peaceful face one again and let out a deep breath. "Wait for me guys, I'm coming!" with a small victory cheer, Minato stepped out of the cemetery and made his way towards his only home in the world : The Iwatodai Dorm.

* * *

 **Yeah, 2 chapters in less than 24 hours but hey, I'm glad you people liked it and like always, I keep my promises. So here is chapter two for Days of Hope. I'm overjoyed by the response and I hope you keep reviewing. My college starts on 9th but I'm sure we can update daily given feedback.**

 **The p4 cast is on a scholarship, since gekkoukan college is fairly new. The juniors from the game aren't there but that doesn't mean that they won't appear. Every p3/p4 character will have a role in this because the antag (who is not fucking nyarly finally) is a God so a huge team effort for the win.**

 **Akihiko is with Junpei since he trained DBZ (literally) during vacation and ended up getting mauled by a grizzly, leading to those scars. Mitsuru is the owner so she can waltz in anytime she pleases. There are still some characters that have to be introduced which will be covered in the next chapter and then the adventures begin.**

 **I'm glad we got the whole resurrection thing out of the way, because that is tedious to write. And next chapter, Minato returns to his friends.**

 **Anyway, you still interested in this? Let me know. :P See you soon. I'm a little tired to answer all the reviews but thanks a ton guys, kudos. Next time, I hope!  
**


	3. Return

Junpei leaned back on the couch, trying to engross his mind into boring game that was barely keeping his attention on the handheld. "This is so boring..."

"I know," Yukari sighed, pocketing her cell phone. "My manager hasn't called me so I guess I have a day off."

"You sure love being on the big screen, eh?" Junpei teased.

"Shut up," Yukari rolled her eyes. "I'm still a student."

"A student who appears on TV almost daily," Junpei corrected.

Yukari sighed and didn't retort, she merely waved the capped male off, sinking further into the couch. "You know... My job gives me some good cash but it also puts a smile on people's faces."

"Watcha talking about?" Junpei questioned, shutting off his handheld.

"If I can make people smile and happy... Doesn't that mean I'm helping Minato?" Yukari asked, biting her lower lip.

Junpei blinked and his heart sank deeper upon the mention of Minato and his burden. "His burden, huh..."

"Yeah," Yukari cringed upon remembering what Minato was put through. "It helps him, right? Even just a little bit... Right?"

"... Noble," Junpei smiled at the brunette. "Way too noble for you."

"H-Hey," Yukari cried, giving a small pout.

Junpei laughed lightly. "You are keeping your promise," he gazed below at the ground. "... Wish other people could do that."

"They will!" Yukari spoke up determinedly. "One day, he'll finally be at peace."

"I hear you," Junpei balled his fist up, the atmosphere took a nosedive like most times when Minato was brought into the conversation. "3 years... And I still can't believe he went away..."

"Dark days..." Yukari murmured.

"And then Hamu-tan came in..." Junpei continued.

Yukari was about to say something else but a cool voice interjected, halting the two from speaking further.

"There is no need to grieve," the voice was calm and authoritative, but deep down, the two could feel the voice cracking somewhat.

"Mitsuru-senpai," Yukari said as the leader of the Kirijo Group gracefully made her way into the lounge. Mitsuru was smiling softly at the two but Yukari could see beneath her facade, she was still in pain... Much like everyone else.

"Wow, senpai!" Junpei yelped. "I didn't know you were coming."

Mitsuru chuckled, taking a seat next to the brunette. "I was passing through the area so I thought I'd pay a little visit." she turned to Yukari. "How are you, Yukari?"

"I'm doing good," Yukari finally smiled.

Mitsuru turned to the capped male. "What about you, Iori?"

"Doing good," Junpei grinned, although it was a little hard to maintain.

Mitsuru saw through their fake smiles and let out a deep breath. "I understand how you both feel..." she trailed off, gazing at her boots. "What happened to our leader, I can't blame you for not getting over that."

"It was so sudden," Junpei clenched his fist. "I was expecting him to yell at us for being late but..."

Yukari slumped her shoulders. Junpei didn't dare complete the sentence because the mere thought inside of his skull rained shivers down his spine. "..."

"Remember, every moment of grief, anger and sorrow, every negative emotion that you are experiencing empowers the beast," Mitsuru explained, her calm voice cracking. "... Which, in turn, hurts Minato even more."

The two cringed at that, the truth eating them from the inside.

"Try to engross yourself in studies or anything else," Mitsuru advised, giving out another sigh. "This is hard, but eventually... We will get over this and honor his sacrifice."

...

Minato knew the directions by heart and because of that, he arrived to the dorm fairly quickly. It was nearly evening. He smiled to himself and pondered what would his friends be up to.

"... Are they even here?" Minato bit his lip but the lights illuminating the lounge gave him hope. Even if they weren't there, he could ask the students about Mitsuru and then meet up with the rest.

Deep down, he knew they were there. Minato still held onto Elizabeth who was sleeping peacefully. "Here it goes.." he took a step forward.

...

Yukari shed a few tears and Junpei lowered his cap, the silence was deadly just like the silence during their exploration of the Abyss. "Dammit..." the capped male cussed, he always hated when this happened.

"Yukari..." Mitsuru said slowly. "Please go check up on her..."

Yukari stood up and nodded slightly, speeding up the stairs. Hamuko would only invoke more memories of Minato but she wasn't going to let her friend wallow in grief all alone.

Mitsuru closed her eyes and leaned back on the couch, the conversation taking a toll on her, like usual.

A thick and suffocating silence prevailed between the two students who remained in the lounge, until...

The doorbell ringing made the two shiver for some reason, a familiar scent seeping into the lounge. It was mixed in with the smell of almost everything else but despite that, the certain scent wafted towards Mitsuru and Junpei, causing both of them to blink.

Mitsuru clutched her chest, feeling someone stir deep inside of her heart.

Junpei stood up, his breaths coming out heavy. Even if he was a striker, he could feel something, something heavy but warm nonetheless. "I-I'll go check it.." he muttered, making his way towards the door.

The doorbell rang once again and the scent grew stronger as Junpei came closer to the piece of wood. He stopped inches away and held out his hand which was quivering.

"... Please," Junpei begged, looking up at the ceiling. "Let this be a miracle.."

The doorbell rang once again.

"Shit," Junpei bit his lip hard, he really didn't want to open the door and welcome anyone else beside his best friend. He would plummet into the depths of depression if it was anyone else, the conversation from earlier took the toll on his psyche and the familiar scent that somehow permeated throughout the lounge was driving him nuts.

Was it him? It couldn't be... Minato died in front of his eyes.

"Why am I thinking like this..." he questioned. "Why now..." why did all the thoughts and wishful thinking crash onto him just right now? He had opened the door for countless other people but right now, his fingers were shaking.

Junpei needed a shoulder to lean on, the very shoulder he used to cry on when Chidori died. He was able to sleep/work/laugh through the grief for 3 straight years but suddenly, his shoulders and eyelids grew way too heavy. He couldn't do it anymore.

"Please..." Junpei begged once again to the fates as his shivering grew more violent and his heart received yet another smack. He shakily wrapped his fist around the doorknob and took a painfully long breath that nearly buckled his knees.

The scent only grew stronger and a familiar wave of warmth washed over the capped teen, and Mitsuru who was panting very hard right now. She was on the couch but she could feel the warmth even from there.

Junpei closed his one eye and slowly began to open the door.

"..."

He saw blue and nearly tripped onto the floor.

"... Min-" he trailed off, observing blue clothes. His heart sank deeper... Minato would never wear something like this.

The position that the stranger was standing in however raised his hopes once again.

"... Shit.." Junpei couldn't hold it anymore. Why was he so afraid of just smashing the door open!?

Finally, he observed a small smile on someone's features, the cool smile sent a number of shivers down his spine, brushing over the segments on the bone but it was followed by a wave of warmth and pure happiness.

The door finally opened and Minato was standing on the outside.

"Hello," Minato greeted with only a whisper but the voice managed to reach Junpei and Mitsuru who stood up in a second.

Junpei shot like a bullet and without caring for the female in Minato's arms, smashed right into the blunette, locking Minato into a very tight 'bro' hug. Junpei couldn't believe it, he wanted to question and know the situation but those didn't matter at all right now. Minato was on the door, he died 3 years ago but for some reason, he was here right now.

"Minato!" Junpei yelled on top of his lungs, finally breaking down with tears flowing down his face.

"Junpei..." Minato responded back with another smile.

Even Elizabeth smiled softly, despite being fast asleep.

How? What? Why? When?

Junpei shrugged those questions off and leaned his head against Minato's shoulder. "You bastard!" the capped teen growled. "You slept for 3 damn years!"

"Sorry," Minato replied back, patting Junpei on his back. "I won't ever leave again, I promise." It was almost weird how they were talking, usually something like this would result in panic and denial since Minato returned from the dead, but Junpei was no stranger to paranormal happenings and he didn't give a crap about the entity which brought him back.

"You better not," Junpei warned. "Bro, everything fell apart."

"W-Who is there..." Mitsuru had finally stood up, but she was a little afraid to walk over and see for herself.

Junpei wanted to yell that Minato had returned due to some miracle but Minato smiled once again and slowly made his way inside.

Mitsuru's breath hitched in her throat as she caught wind of footsteps, slow and nerve-wrecking footsteps. Junpei stepped aside, teary eyed and yet, he had the grin on the face, the grin that was long forgotten since 3 years ago.

Minato stepped out into her view and Mitsuru's knees buckled. She was barely able to keep standing.

Minato looked different, he was slightly taller and his azure bangs now covered his face almost entirely. He was also holding onto a complete stranger who was passed out in his arms.

"M-Minato..." Mitsuru, tears glistering at corner of her eyes.

"Senpai..." Minato smiled at her as well, hanging his head low as a sign of respect.

Mitsuru reached out and touched his cheek, he was actually there and this wasn't a delusion, neither a dream.

"I'm back," Minato breathed out.

Mitsuru finally let some tears after those three long and painful years. She held them back every time because she was the glue that held the others together, but right now, Minato had returned and she was tired of holding her emotions that ate her up from the inside.

Mitsuru sobbed quietly.

Minato wiped them away and gave another smile. He walked ahead and carefully placed Elizabeth on the couch. The former attendant shifted on the couch and began snoring once again. Minato found that adorable for some reason.

Someone was coming down the stairs.

"Minato!" Yukari panted, nearly tripping down the steps. Minato twirled around and gave one smile that was enough to make Yukari break down and scream on top of her lungs. She had heard Junpei's shout coming from the lounge and like the other two, she felt the wave of warmth that washed over her.

The brunette nearly knocked Minato to the ground as she ran into him, burying her face into his blue shirt.

"You moron!" Yukari sobbed, much like the other two. "I don't you not to go!" she repeated what she said during the final battle against Nyx.

"I came back, right?" Minato replied calmly. He turned around to face the two. "And I promise, I won't ever leave you again." he swore.

"You better not," Yukari pulled back and glared. "You weren't the only one who..." she gulped. "Died that day.."

Minato head his hung low. "I know..."

Yukari started laughing, the deep wound on her heart slowly healing up. Also, she had someone to call. The model whipped around with another merry laugh.

"Ham-" Yukari didn't care about exposing Hamuko to miracle and personae. Hamuko was mentally dead for the past few years after hearing the news and seeing Minato back would surely bring her to life.

Yukari halted mid-sentence as Hamuko stood at the staircase.

Minato blinked, observing a very familiar auburn haired standing on the lower step. "Hamuko?" he whispered, it had been ages since he last saw her. They chatted sometimes when he was alive but it had been three years now...

Hamuko was emotionless and her petite frame was shivering slightly. "..."

Minato released Yukari and stepped forward.

"Are you really him?" Hamuko spoke lifelessly, was this a delusion or just some sick game?

"I am," Minato pinned his bangs to the side and gave a warm smile to the shaken redhead.

"It is him, Hamu-tan!" Junpei cried. "He is back. Don't ask how but he's back!"

"Its been a while," Minato smiled but Hamuko didn't twitch even a bit. "... Hamster,"

Hamuko's ruby eyes widened upon the nickname and memories flooded into her brain. She slowly walked over to Minato who closed the distance between them as well.

The two were inches away. Hamuko reached out and touched him, and he was real.

"Cousin..." Hamuko murmured. She had millions of questions but nothing else mattered right now. The rest watched on as life slowly returned to her eyes, the very thing she lost when Hamuko stepped into the dorm for the first time. The redhead reached out and hugged her cousin.

"Yes," Minato returned the hug. He had missed her too, after all, it had been years since they last saw each other. Hamuko bit her lip to stop the tears but the drops easily penetrated through the effort and cascaded down her cheek freely.

Hamuko sobbed in his embrace, a gigantic weight lifted from her shoulders. "I-I don't care," she sobbed, referring to how had he returned. "D-Don't leave again..."

"I won't," Minato only repeated his earlier vow. "I promise..."

Hamuko increased the pitch of her cries and pounded onto Minato's shoulder. "Y-You idiot!" she bawled, increasing the intensity of her blows.

"H-Hamuko..." Yukari wiped her tears away. The reunion was heartwarming.

Hamuko let out another loud wail and her muscles went limb once again. Minato clutched onto her tightly as her vision blackened and Hamuko fell limp in Minato's arms.  
"She's okay..." Minato said to a concerned Yukari. "Just exhausted."

Minato looked back to see Elizabeth shifting on the couch. He had to tell them what happened but he was interrupted by a knock on the door.

Someone knocked on the door before opening it. Minato felt a familiar aura stepping inside the dorm. He still held onto Hamuko and slowly turned around to face silver-gray eyes.

Souji was staring into silver eyes himself. It wasn't Naoto either. It was a male.

"Souji," Junpei blinked. The juniors were hanging out till curfew. He had completely forgotten about that.

Souji was confused. The dude was holding onto Hamuko-senpai who was passed out in his embrace, much like the platinum blonde female snoring peacefully on the couch.

"Blue..." he remembered the color and noticed her rare features. "Velvet Room..."

Minato smiled at his successor of sorts.

Souji blinked in response, feeling something stirring inside the sea of his soul. Eventually, he bowed his head and nodded.

Minato nodded in return.

* * *

 **I'm sleepy but since I'm a nice guy, I finished this and here we are. I apologize if the focus wasn't on p4 gang and elizabeth, but I completely butchered the scene in the previous fic. Turned the powerful scene into fucking comedy and there was no way that would happen once again. This wasn't anything dramatic/funny/over the top, it was just Minato returning and his friends pouring their hearts out to him.  
**

 **It was simple but I think it went pretty well. Next chapter, explanations and finally the entire cast gets introduced. Minato x Elizabeth scenes as well, that is a given tho.**

 **Thank you very much for the support. *thumbs up* We'll keep on writing, just don't stop giving me your thoughts. Can't do/write without your support.**

 **See you soon.**


	4. Briefing

"Excuse me," Souji spoke after somewhat of a long silence. "Who are you?" the gray haired male was a little on his guard due to the fact that he had never seen the blue haired male in the dorm before and he didn't look like a student.

On closer inspector, he was clad in blue clothes much like the female sleeping on the couch and Margaret. Was he from the Velvet Room too?

Mitsuru knew that Souji and his friends were persona users. She was unsure of it at first but thanks to Fuuka, it became clear that the group of juniors were indeed rather seasoned persona users with Souji being strongest of them, by far.

Minato chuckled. "No one important."

"Dude," Yosuke spoke up. "You kinda are in our dorm."

Minato nodded to himself, so they were the new students. He didn't know about the mahogany haired teen but his gray haired friend was a persona user no doubt, and his power was exactly like his own.

Likewise, Souji could sense a very familiar power emitting from the blue haired male.

"..."

"..." couple of stares later, the silence was finally broken.

"It's nice to meet you," both Fools spoke simultaneously, much to each others' amusement.

Souji rubbed the back of his neck and Minato let out a small chuckle.

Mitsuru was watching intently and for some reason, she smiled at the interaction. She had stated before that the gray haired junior reminded her of Minato when he interacted with people, he also had the unteachable charisma that Minato possessed.

Minato carefully move towards the couch and placed his cousin gently. The Messiah let out a small sigh and faced his old teammates. "I've got some explaining to do, I think." he turned towards the juniors. "No offense but can you please give us a minute? Have to take care of business."

Souji nodded quickly. "None taken. Please take all the time you need," he turned to the redhead. "My friend came over, is it oka-" Mitsuru nodded, causing Souji to smile. "Come on, Yukiko." he called out the raven haired girl who nervously shuffled inside the lounge.

"G-Good evening," Yukiko bowed slightly at her seniors.

"Let's get going," Chie urged. "We're wasting their time." the group of juniors hurriedly sped up the stairs to leave the seniors alone with the unknown visitor.

Minato watched Souji leave from the corner of his eye. "He's special..." he mused, focusing his attention back on his friends.

Yukari was still sobbing.

Mitsuru was sobbing as well, but silent tears.

Junpei was teary eyed but his grin was wide like his high school days.

Minato let out a contended sigh, he was back where he belonged, with his family AND friends. "Been a while, huh guys?" he rubbed the back of his neck. "Can you call the rest? I'd like to see them as well." Mitsuru had already fished out her cellphone and began calling the rest.

...

"Who is that guy?" Yosuke asked a little too loudly.

"Shhh!" Souji hushed. "Keep it down."

"Sorry," Yosuke gulped. "Seriously though, who is that guy?"

"Why was he holding onto Hamuko-senpai like that?" Yukiko pondered. "She normally doesn't like physical contact with strangers..."

"Who does?" Chie joked. "But that guy had something... I can't put my finger on it."

"He looked like Naoto?" Yosuke said. "I can't be only one who caught that, right?" he looked around.

Souji laughed lowly. "You're not alone. He does look like Naota... except in certain areas, of course."

"Souji!" Yukiko blushed.

"The dude is talking the truth here," Yosuke defended his friend but immediately placed a hand on his cheek afterwards.

"Facts, you can't argue against them," Souji shrugged.

"I wasn't talking about his looks!" Chie nearly yelled, making Souji hush her as well. "Sorry, but..." the brunette threw her hands up in the air. "He kinda reminded me of Souji, that's all!" Chie huffed.

"Nothing except the eyes," Yukiko blushed. "Although, Souji looks cooler."

"I wasn't talking about appearance, Yukiko," Chie sighed. "Like I said, I can't put my finger on it."

"Well, he seemed like a pretty good friend to them," Yosuke said, causing the rest to nod. He swung an arm around his friend. "Like Souji is to us."

Souji sighed and faced his friends. "He's a persona user," he said bluntly, leading to small gasps.

"A-Are you sure?" Yosuke asked again.

"Yeah," Souji replied calmly.

"Did Rise tell you that?" Yukiko questioned.

"No," Souji replied with a wave of his hand. "It never happened before but I just know that he is a persona user... It feels like I already know the guy for some reason..."

"YES!" Chie fist pumped. "Charisma, he has this aura around him... like you do." the brunette blushed.

"I don't know about that," Souji laughed again, listening to the shouts of joy coming from downstairs. "However, I feel like we'll be seeing a lot of this guy from now..."

"And he doesn't seem like a blood thirsty psychopath," Yosuke laughed. "How about we discuss plans for tomorrow?"

...

"Hey guys, come on..." Minato gave another smile to his weeping companions. "I'm back now." he repeated for the umpteenth time.

"This feels like the dream I've always had," Aigis choked out, tears flowing down her cheeks.

"Don't talk like that," Akihiko sniffed. "This is real life, and like he said, he ain't going back."

"That's true, right Minato-kun?" Fuuka asked with slight panic in her tone.

"Yes," Minato nearly sighed but he couldn't blame them. It was obvious that his team went through quite a lot after he passed away.

Minato rubbed his eyes to maintain his composure and not bawl his eyes out along with them.

"... Minato," Yukari spoke up. "Who is she?" she pointed at Elizabeth who was sprawled on the couch. The blue haired Messiah snickered and stood up to face his team, minus Ken and Koromaru who were unreachable at the moment due to some reason.

"I guess you guys know the deal regarding Erebus and Nyx?" he questioned.

"How did you know?" Mitsuru asked.

"Simple," Minato grinned. "I saw you guys destroy that thing," he gave Aigis a sidelong glance. "Especially you, Aigis."

The mechanical maiden finally smiled through the tears.

"You were watching us?" Yukari blinked.

"I was always watching over you guys," Minato replied. "It was probably the only thing keeping me sane."

"D-Dammit..." Akihiko bit his lip. Tears threatened to break out once again.

Minato continued. "Her name is Elizabeth. Long story short, but she rescued me from the Seal."

"Wait," Aigis bowed quickly. "I apologize for the interruption but I remember now. Elizabeth-san and we met in the Velvet Room."

"That's right," Mitsuru remembered. "After we defeated the beast..."

"She was an attendant over there," Minato explained, he looked back and smiled at the platinum blonde. "She rejected the contract and set out to free me."

"Why?" Mitsuru questioned again. "I am glad that you have returned but what was her motive?"

"She said it was because..." Minato stammered slightly. "Of the bond between us... And how guys wallowed in grief after what happened."

"We did a lot more than that," Junpei added. "That chick has a heart of gold."

"The seal is intact," Minato fist pumped. "Never to be broken thanks to Elizabeth and to repay the debt, I brought her along to live here."

"In the dorms?" Fuuka blinked.

Minato nodded. "Yeah, she might look older but she is kinda like a child so all of us will be keeping an eye on her."

"In the student dorms..." Yukari gulped. "Don't you think the college would object to this?"

"Yuka-tan!" Junpei laughed merrily and pointed at Mitsuru. "The head of the college is here. Any problem with that, senpai?"

Mitsuru chuckled. "We all indebt to her," she said, causing the rest to nod. "If Minato wants her to remain here and so be it. Just leave the rest to me."

Minato gave her a thumbs up. "Thank you senpai," he turned to the rest. "I'll be counting on you guys as well, do help her when she needs it, right?"

"She brought you back!" Yukari fist pumped. "She's already a friend to us."

"Also," Minato faced his passed out cousin. "... What about her?" he asked, walking over to Hamuko.

"She came shortly after you..." Fuuka gulped, the memory still causing her to quiver. "Passed away.."

"Hamuko arrived in the dorm just before the start of our senior eyes," Yukari continued. "She was pumped to see you and..."

"We were still shaken ourselves so we kept it a secret for a while," Akihiko sighed.

"We finally told her and..." Fuuka cringed, remembering the heartbreaking breakdown of Hamuko. "..." she spoke no more.

"Hamuko-san was hospitalized for a few days," Aigis added further.

"She was in denial for a short time but eventually, she accepted it," Mitsuru exhaled. "But that did not mean that she got over it..."

Minato sighed. Hamuko went through hell as well.

"What did you tell her?" Minato asked.

"We just said you passed away and didn't give the reason," Junpei explained as Minato leaned down to Hamuko and ruffled her auburn ponytail with another sigh.

"She'll be okay now," he said with a smile this time. "She'll heal up in no time."

"How very touching..." those words with followed by a soft yawn. Minato whipped around to see Elizabeth. She was staring fondly at the scene with somewhat of a sad look on her features.

"You're awake," Minato said with a sigh.

Elizabeth stood up and bowed at the rest. "It is wonderful to see you once again."

"Elizabeth-san," Aigis beamed. "Wonderful to meet you once again."

Elizabeth giggled, pleased by her greeting. "I am overjoyed you remember my name, despite our relatively curt introduction."

"We'll be best friends before you know it," Yukari stepped forward and grasped her hand. "Thank you so much for bringing Minato back to us."

Elizabeth smiled fondly once again. "All because of the deep bond you shared with him."

Minato rubbed the back of his neck with a sheepish smile. "Well..." he trailed off.

The rest introduced themselves to the former elevator attendant and Elizabeth didn't really have much to say about herself. The introductions finished quickly and Mitsuru assured that Elizabeth could stay in the dorm as long as she wanted and all the charges would fall on the Kirijo Group.

Minato looked over at Hamuko and then back at his team. "Guys, I'm going to tell her the truth..."

"Do you think she'll believe it?" Junpei said.

"I think so," Minato bit his lip. "I saw her active during the Dark Hour a few times..."

"Correct," Elizabeth confirmed. "Your dear relative does indeed have the capability to summon a persona."

"So personae run in the family, eh?" Junpei joked.

Elizabeth hung her head low. "Terribly sorry, but that question is out of my grip..." the female blinked once again. "Um, grip... plateau..." she continued on before blushing faintly. "I-In any case, I cannot answer that. I apologize."

Minato couldn't help but laugh at how adorable and childlike Elizabeth was.

"I don't see a reason for you to laugh," Elizabeth pouted.

"Elizabeth," Minato sighed, remembering their dates in the Malls. "This place has gotten more livelier than ever before."

The rest (sans Mitsuru) fist pumped for the return of their dear friend once again and a new member into their circle of friends. Minato picked up Hamuko once again. "Any vacant room, senpai?"

"Indeed, we were arranging a room for another student," she chuckled. "However, Elizabeth is free to use it."

"I appreciate it," Elizabeth bowed once again.

"Come on then," Minato began to walk up the stairs. "I need to tuck my cousin in bed as well." he whipped around to face his teammates and finally let lose a stray. "Its good to be back..." he quickly sped up the stairs with Elizabeth behind him.

Minato briefly stopped on the second floor to see the juniors gossiping. "Hey!" the Messiah greeted.

"He's still holding onto her..." Yosuke whispered to Souji. "Is he her boyfriend or something?"

"Shut up..." Souji said through gritted teeth as he smiled at Minato. "Hello, sorry for the abrupt entrance a while ago."

"No worries," Minato shrugged. "It's nice to meet you, like I said before."

"Likewise," Souji chuckled.

"My dear guest," Elizabeth sang from behind him, poking him on the ribs. "I'd like to 'freshen up' as humans put it. Hasten your steps, please."

"Sure," he nodded before facing the group of juniors once again. "Goodnight, I'll be seeing you."

"Goodnight," Souji gave him a two finger salute and Minato went up the stairs with the blue clad female behind him. The two females looked between the blunette and Souji and they shared a look afterwards.

...

Minato tucked Hamuko in the bed and draped a blanket over her. "Good to see you again," he whispered and ruffled her head once again.

"Oh my," Elizabeth cooed, observing her reflection in the mirror. "Such a rare encounter."

Minato laughed. "Elizabeth, that is a mirror and it shows your reflection."

Elizabeth twirled around with another pout. "I was aware of that. I have read about mirrors somewhere..." she struggled and ended up blushing once again. "I-In any case, I was aware of their properties."

"Hey, Elizabeth?" Minato said quietly.

"Yes, Minato-kun?" Elizabeth said.

"Thank you," Minato clasped her hand, causing the female to blush once again.

"Let me help you, alright?" he beamed at Elizabeth. "I'll make sure that your stay here will be most comfortable time of your life."

'T-Thank you," Elizabeth beamed back.

The two looked back to see Hamuko's head dangling off the bed.

Minato and Elizabeth shared a small laugh.

* * *

 **PHEW! Out of the boring part, finally! Still Ken and Koro left but eh, they'll come soon. Again, the focus was more on the p3 group but I think you can understand why. Next chapter, we'll have more moments, some humor and slight plot progression. This won't be as large as the other Days of Stories but I hope you enjoy the ride.**

 **Also, as a quiz, who do YOU think will be the antagonist of this fic? Take a guess.**

 **And well, please review as always.**

 **See you later.**


	5. Catching Up

Minato laid on his bed, his eyes well acquainted with the ceiling above him. "I'm alive.." he breathed out with a smile. He thought back to the battle against Nyx and the miracle that happened. "I never dreamed of stepping foot here again.."

A lot had changed in 3 years, Junpei had grown taller, Yukari had grown taller, Mitsuru was now the head of the Kirijo Group. And for some reason, during his walk back to the dorm, Minato had grown a little as well. His bangs now covered his face entirely and he was a head taller than before.

Minato pinned his hair to the side and mumbled. "Gotta get a haircut soon." pushing his hair troubles to the side, Minato began to dwell on the gray haired boy he saw earlier. He wasn't buffed up or tough looking but he carried that charisma, the charisma of a Wild Card.

"Guess he had a Journey as well," Minato mused. "And his friends... they were pretty close to him too."

The blue haired male stood up and smiled. "I think we'll get along.." he laughed, looking out the window as the sunlight poured inside of his room. He smiled softly, relishing the warmth that he thought he would never experience again.

Someone knocked on his door and Minato diverted his attention towards it. "Come in."

The person on the other side sighed and slowly opened the door, revealing himself to be the same gray haired Fool from earlier. "Hey, uh, morning." he greeted.

"Good Morning to you too," Minato greeted back, eyeing the tray he was holding.

Souji sighed and walked forward, putting the tray on his desk with a little too much force. He was sorta annoyed. "So uh, Mitsuru-senpai sent something for you to eat. Enjoy it, I guess."

"Oh, thanks," Minato nodded but didn't reach out for the plate. He ended up staring at the gray haired male once again who stared back at him.

Another comfortable silence passed which was broken by Souji who looked around before finally asking the question that was on his mind. "Who are you?"

Minato chuckled, leaning back slightly. "Tell me this first..." he asked with a low voice which made Souji edge closer to the older male. The gray haired Fool frowned at Minato who was mulling over his words. "... What miracle did you accomplish?"

Souji blinked. Where did that come from? "Miracle?" he tried to look away but Minato's gaze was almost magnet like.

"Don't play around man," Minato laughed lightly. "You know me already, just by a single look. Same thing happened with me."

"So you sensed it too?" Souji asked.

"Yeah," Minato nodded curtly. "You're a persona user."

"Much like yourself," Souji nodded back at him.

"Wild Card,"

"Like me,"

"Yeah," Minato chuckled once again as he stood up. "No one has that aura. No one but a Wild Card. What's your name?"

"Souji Seta," the God Slayer replied. "I was offered a scholarship so I moved here for college. Now please, who exactly are you?" he asked once more.

"Minato Arisato," the Messiah introduced himself.

"W-What the!?" Souji widened his eyes. "Minato? I've heard that name and he like passed away 3 years ago. You have to be bluffing."

"Nope," Minato shrugged in response. "I did pass away 3 years ago but I'm back, in living flesh."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously,"

The gray haired Fool sighed. "Well, I can summon Gods out of my psyche so I can roll with that.." he trailed off. "No wonder they were so happy to see you again."

"Lot has changed in 3 years," Minato said. "I even got to see my successor."

"You mean me, right?" Souji chuckled. "Well, nice meeting another Fool."

"Yeah, hope we get along or something," Minato nodded.

"That soup will run cold," Souji pointed out before he turned on his heels. "I'll see you later, Minato-senpai." he stopped when his hand touched the doorknob. "About that female..." he trailed off.

"Velvet Room," Minato replied casually, sipping the soup.

"Thought so," Souji walked out.

Minato finished his soup and tea and went up the stairs to check up on Elizabeth. He couldn't really leave her unattended for that long. Minato carefully made his way to the third floor and tip-toed his way towards Elizabeth's room. He politely knocked twice before entering inside.

"Minato-kun!" Elizabeth cheered, looking at him from above.

Minato looked at the ceiling, Elizabeth was floating in mid air, harmonizing mindlessly while flipping over the pages in her tomb. "Good Morning is what you say at this particular time, I believe?"

Minato blinked to snap out of his stupor. "Why are you flying?" he asked.

The tomb in her hand disappeared and Elizabeth gracefully landed back on the ground. "I was merely experimenting. It seems I've lost quite a number of personae," she pouted. "Reason why my cherish compendium looks so light."

Minato rubbed the back of his head. "Well, sorry for that," she probably lost it due to the tremendous amount of power she released to free him from the seal. "You'll recover, right?"

"I believe so," Elizabeth nodded back, landing back on her bed with a giggle. "I've already fallen in one with this..." she trailed off, bouncing slightly.

"Bed," Minato supplied helpfully. "You sleep on it."

The attendant pouted again. "I was aware of that, thank you very much."

Minato laughed once again. "Well, I just came to check on you..." he rubbed his chin, observing the rather disheveled condition of her trademark dress. "It is kind of hot here, don't you feel it in those gloves and boots?"

Elizabeth nodded. "You are correct," she took off her gloves. "I was always quite comfortable in these but for some reason, I do feel a little..." she trailed off, unable to come up with a proper word.

Minato stopped himself for correcting her once again. "Understandable," he nodded as Elizabeth fanned herself. Minato reached out and switched on the air con, sending a cool breeze in her direction.

Elizabeth sighed dreamily and floated towards the air con, eyeing the device with a glint. "I believe I love this machine as well." she cooed.

Minato snickered once again. "Well, enjoy then," he turned around. "I'll have someone send clothes for you." he looked back to see Elizabeth harmonizing in front of the air con. The Messiah smiled and walked out of her room.

Minato took a deep breath, now was the time for the bigger problem. He calmed his nerves and made his way for Hamuko's room. He knocked twice and stepped inside, finding the resident on the floor still sleeping soundly.

Minato sighed and picked her up, resting her back on the bed. He took another deep breath and gently shook her. "Hey," he said quietly.

Hamuko mumbled something and shifted her position. Minato began to shake her once again, and he was answered by a low growl.

"Let me sleep!" Hamuko growled, aiming a kick which Minato dodged. This always happened.

"Wake up, Hamuko," Minato sighed. "Its me, Minato..."

Hamuko shot up straight on her bed after those words. She looked around wildly before fixing her eyes on the male in front of him. "M-Minato?"

"Yeah," Minato rubbed the back on his neck. "I believe we met downstairs.."

Hamuko scooted away when Minato tried to touch her.

"Aw come on," the blue haired Fool sighed.

"H-How can you be him?" Hamuko mumbled, shaking slightly. "I-I saw his grave with my own eyes.."

Minato sighed once again. "Well, about that..." he looked around awkwardly.

"Y-You never came for over 3 years!" she growled, balling up her fist. "And now you show your face and expect me to believe you!?"

"Hey, stuff happened," Minato replied. "Unbelievable stuff."

"What? You telling me that the..." she gulped. "Dead can come back to life?"

"Apparently they can," Minato said calmly. "Hamuko, I am Minato. Your cousin. The same guy you beat up all the time way back."

"L-Liar!" Hamuko scowled. "Don't joke about stuff like this! I'll kick your ass."

"Listen, dammit," Minato's voice cracked slightly. "A lot has happened in the past decade," he looked below. "You probably won't believe me but you're my cousin..." Hamuko growled once again but Minato continued. "I'm gonna tell you anyway, whether you believe or not is up to you."

"Go away," Hamuko sniffed. "The dead don't return..."

Minato pulled her close and hugged her, causing the female to trash around but Minato didn't let go. "Please... listen to me for once.." he pleaded and upon hearing that, Hamuko calmed down somewhat.

"1999," he started. "You were about to shift to London with your family..." Hamuko blinked. "You gave me a slam and hug as a goodbye gift, remember?"

"..."

"Toughen up," he recalled with a chuckle. "You said that too, right? Along with the condescending smirk."

"I..." Hamuko motioned him to continue.

"Coming back from the airport," he took a deep breath. "Something happened in the Moonlight Bridge and our car crashed..."

Hamuko clenched her fist. She had heard the news years later and barely got over it.

"After that," Minato released the hug and looked at the ceiling once again. "Everything changed..." he looked back at her. "You probably won't believe me."

Hamuko tugged on his sleeve, coming closer. "Tell me..." she demanded.

Minato nodded slightly and started the tale about his unbelievable Journey.

...

"That is what happened," Minato finished with another chuckle as Hamuko looked on awe-struck. "Elizabeth freed me from the Seal and that is why I returned here."

"..." the redhead remained silent, the entire story not completely sinking in. It was so surreal to comprehend.

"You can call this bullshit if you like but hey, this is coming from my heart, true as truth."

"For some reason..." Hamuko blinked. "I believe you..."

"Heh," Minato smirked.

"I mean... I did see the weird hour a couple of times," she also ended up with a couple of black blobs which she managed to defeat after sustaining a couple of bruises. "... So you were the one who ended it?"

"Yeah, took my life," he replied.

"So, you really are Minato Arisato?" she scooted closer. "My only cousin?"

"Yes," Minato nodded.

"..."

Minato raised his brow.

"You moron!" Hamuko bawled, punching him on the shoulder with every bit of strength she had. Minato didn't even feel it but the emotion behind the strike was clear. Hamuko launched herself at her cousin once again, leaning against him. "Some troll you are.." she sniffed.

Minato patted her on the back. "I'm glad you believe me," he smiled.

"Don't you ever do that again!" she scowled.

"I won't leave again," Minato promised.

"You better not," Hamuko sniffed again. "I want my kids to have an uncle!"

"Hahaha," Minato laughed, thinking ahead. "Glad my family line won't die."

Hamuko sobbed for half an hour and then separated herself from Minato. "Boy, you were the one who cried and it was me consoling you.."

"It was mostly you who made me cry in the first place," Minato recalled with a deadpan. "You wrestling brat."

"Hehehe," Hamuko chuckled, smiling nostalgically. She stood up and wiped her eyes clean. "I believe I have some gratitude to give."

"Oh, you mean Elizabeth?"

"Oh, that's her name? Eli-chan it is!" Hamuko bounced. "She doesn't know much, right?"

"She's like 3 years old..." Minato trailed off. "Keep an eye out for her, alright?"

"Ya got it!" Hamuko smiled. "... Just don't get lost again, okay?"

Minato sighed and repeated his vow once again.

"Cool!" Hamuko giggled and bounced out of the room, she was relieved and happy for the first time in a long while. Minato watched as his cousin left the room and headed for Elizabeth. The Messiah got up and quietly made his way down the steps, and soon, he was resting on his own bed once again.

...

"DUDE!" Souji clasped Yosuke's mouth shut with his hand and glared harshly.

"Keep it down," he hissed.

"Sorry," he muttered. "But seriously, that guy is Minato? The same guy who died 3 years ago?"

"Yeah," Souji nodded.

"How the hell..."

"Persona," Souji shrugged.

"Impossible!"

"Dude," Souji rolled his eyes. "We defeated a goddess in a freaking television world. You really think this is impossible?"

"So, you believe him?" Yosuke asked.

"I do," Souji replied. "He is a Wild Card... and well, miracles happen when you're a Wild Card."

"Mind blowing..." Yosuke said with awe. "We got two Wild Cards in the house!"

"Dude, what if you both team up against the shadows?" the mahogany haired teen grinned. "Where was he during the scene in Inaba?"

"He was dead?" Souji said bluntly. "And we were probably normal kids when he was the active persona user."

"Anyway..." Souji shrugged. "Let's revise before we get going."

"Aww man," Yosuke cringed. "I don't know jack."

Souji rolled his eyes again.

...

Minato chatted happily with his friends over breakfast. They had a lot to catch up now. Junpei was looking to break into the big baseball leagues and his grades were pretty decent for once. Yukari was working part time as a model. Mitsuru rejected her arranged marriage and took control of the Group and it flourished wonderfully under her leadership. Akihiko was a year removed from studies but he was already applying for the police. Ken was in middle school and lived along with Koromaru. Aigis lived along with Yukari and Fuuka.

A few ungentlemanly jokes were passed along, much to the ire of Yukari but she ended up smiling anyway. The group wasn't this happy for a long time.

"So, Akihiko," Minato smirked, much to the delight of Junpei and the annoyance of the boxer. "What exactly happened to you?"

"I was mauled by a bear when training in the wild," Akihiko sighed.

"Hope you gave it some payback,"

"I killed the damn thing!" the boxer spat. "Had a knife and after the lucky shot, I killed it with ease."

"Like lucky mauling," Junpei teased.

"Shut up!" Akihiko yelled. "I swear, I have to stomach this for months. Please tell you'll be attending class with me! PLEASE!"

Minato blinked. "Oh right..." studies mattered as well. "I still haven't completed high school."

"HAHAHAH!" Junpei laughed loudly. "Call me Junpei-senpai."

Fuuka giggled. "Minato-kun was always a decent student. Something can be done, right?"

"I believe so," Yukari looked at Mitsuru. "Can you do it, senpai?"

Minato looked at Aigis. "If senpai could bring Aigis to school then I doubt she'll have a problem with me."

The mechanical maiden nodded with a smile. "It can be done. Mitsuru-san has complete control over the college."

"Very well," the CEO of the Kirijo Group stood up. "I will arrange something but you will have to score high marks on the entrance exam."

"No problem!" Minato fist pumped.

The juniors stepped into the lounge and greeted the seniors.

"Hey guys!" Junpei greeted. "Come join us! Breakfast is plenty."

Souji and Yosuke made their way to the table and helped themselves to some toast and bacon.

"You two..." Mitsuru started. "I believe Minato has told you something..."

"He did," Souji confirmed.

"... We will discuss this in due time,"

"No problem, senpai," Yosuke shrugged. "We kinda got the gist of it."

"We are aware of your powers," Mitsuru said slowly.

"Well, I kinda know about your powers too," Souji rubbed the back of his head. "A subject for another time, perhaps?"

"Indeed," Minato said. "I'd like to hear your tale."

Souji smiled slightly. "Me too."

"Make way!" the voice commanded from up stairs and it was followed by brisk footsteps. Hamuko bounced down the steps with a wide grin. "Heya!" she saluted the rest.

"Wow, is that really Hamu-tan?" Junpei blinked.

"Of course!" Hamuko rolled her eyes, looking over at Minato. "I was missing an idiot and now that he's back, everything is dandy."

"Good to hear that, senpai," Souji gave her a thumb ups.

"You boys are in a for-" she stopped herself and shook her head. "Eli-chan, you can come down now."

"Steady," Elizabeth's voice was focused, probably on the steps. "One step at a time.." soon, Elizabeth made her way down the stairs without an injury. She smiled and faced the group. "Once again, pleasure to meet you." she bowed.

Elizabeth was clad in a blue t-shirt and some jeans, she looked a lot more comfortable than before, and Minato had to admit, she looked stunning. Her appearance caused a silence which by broken by Yosuke clapping.

Souji clapped along.

Junpei and Akihiko followed.

The females joined as well.

"Thank you!" Elizabeth bowed once again. "You are all so kind." she said somewhat shyly.

Minato finally clapped, much to the delight of Elizabeth.

"Well," Yukari stood up. "College awaits, see you later." she waved with a smile and walked off, followed by Fuuka and Aigis.

"Au revoir," Mitsuru said her goodbyes and walked away.

"Have fun Minato," Junpei winked at Minato and went away with a scowling Akihiko.

"Later, senpai," Souji gave him a two finger salute and left with Yosuke.

"Be nice to her, alright? Better not try anything with her, got that!?" Hamuko threatened.

Minato rolled his eyes. "Like I will..."

"Have fun!" she cheered and slammed the door shut, leaving Minato and Elizabeth alone. Elizabeth looked around the lounge and sighed dreamily, floating towards the nearest air con.

Minato face-palmed but he ended up smiling anyway. "Let's talk for a bit, shall we?"

"Of course," Elizabeth grinned back, looking down at her former guest.

* * *

 **Sorry for the late update, lost the motivation AGAIN. Anyway, I believe the introductions and dialogue heavy chapters are done so we can move onto the plot advancement and SOME humor.**

 **If you have any questions about the characters then do ask.**

 **Also, about the social links, everyone loves the two Fools!**

 **As a poll, do you guys want to see Elizabeth in college or would that be a little impossible? :P do let me know.**

 **As always, do review us your thoughts. Thanks.**

 **See you later.**


	6. Scholastic Aptitude Test

Minato sighed once again as he tried to keep the conversation going but it was kinda difficult when Elizabeth was displaying a keen interest in every mundane object present in the lounge, from the lights to the television.

"Please continue," Elizabeth motioned him to continue as she walked out of the kitchen, holding onto a large frying pan. "This device here..." she inspected the object very closely. "Can be used as a short range weapon, no?"

"That is used for cooking," Minato said with a deadpan. "But yeah, I see what you mean."

Elizabeth punched the frying pan casually, denting the metal and rendering it useless. "Pity that it isn't durable enough."

Minato face-palmed. "Elizabeth..."

"Yes?" the attendant crushed the object further and Minato sighed once again.

"Sit down for once,"

"No can do my dear guest," Elizabeth giggled. "Let me sate my curiosity of the human world." she ran off once again.

The blue haired male stood up and pondered briefly about going out of the dorm for a haircut but when Elizabeth yelled something about a natural disaster upstairs, Minato shrugged it off and ran up the stairs.

"What the..." the Messiah sweat dropped as water seeped into the third floor's lounge and it was coming from Elizabeth's room. "There goes my pajamas.." he muttered, making his way towards her room. He knocked and stepped inside to see Elizabeth floating above once again.

"Minato-kun!" she warned."I might have triggered a tsunami!" she pointed at the tap which was leaking out water nonstop.

"... or was it a cyclone?"

"... hurricane, maybe?" Elizabeth trailed off, lost in thought.

Minato sighed and turned the faucet off before looking above. "Tell me, did you leave the water running?" he questioned but Elizabeth ignored it.

"YES!" Elizabeth cheered. "Flood! But it seems you've put an end to the danger."

Minato began to dwell on the hypothesis that Elizabeth was just a huge troll but he shrugged it off. "This is a faucet, there is no way something like this would cause a natural disaster."

Elizabeth stepped on the ground and crossed her arms. "I was aware of that! I was merely..." she trailed off and stood silent for a few seconds and ended up blushing in the end.

Minato looked at the mess that she had created. She most likely left the tap running before leaving with Hamuko. "Ah well, nothing we can do. Come on, I'll provide you some entertainment."

"That sounds wonderful," Elizabeth beamed. "To entertainment!"

The two made their way back into the lounge once again to see someone standing there already. Minato gave a two finger salute to Souji who returned it.

"Hey, senpai," Souji greeted and Elizabeth came bouncing down the steps. "And Elizabeth-san."

"Ah," Elizabeth bowed once again. "We haven't been properly introduced before. My name is Elizabeth. Elizabeth from the Velvet Room."

"I noticed," Souji nodded, going over the color of her eyes and hair.

"Were you a guest as well?" Elizabeth questioned.

"Yeah, they helped me a lot during my journey," Souji replied.

"Igor and who else?" Minato asked.

"Margaret," the gray haired male smiled slightly upon remembering the beautiful attendant.

Elizabeth on the other hand was slightly miffed for some reason. "Oh..." she shrugged and tugged on Minato's sleeve. "I believe you were about to provide some decent entertainment."

"Ah yes," Minato nodded and rummaged through the collection of manga. He hid the Mature rated ones and gave the box to Elizabeth who looked giddy. "Enjoy yourself."

Elizabeth ran off once again, giggling the whole while.

"How was college?" Minato asked.

"You're in for a rough time," the gray haired male replied.

"Thank you," Minato deadpanned.

Elizabeth came back upon the mention of college. "Forgive the intrusion, but college..." she paused. "Is a place of learning, is it not?"

"Kinda like school, yeah," Souji replied. "More freedom than school though."

"Excellent!" Elizabeth tossed the manga to the side and held her arms up. "Then, I, Elizabeth wish to participate as well."

Minato blinked. "Participate?"

"I wish to enroll in your college as a student," Elizabeth clarified.

"What?" Minato blinked again. "Are you serious?"

Souji sipped on a Mad Bull and leaned back slightly, watching the event unfold.

"Of course, Minato-kun!" Elizabeth said with another bounce. "I wish to live my life to the fullest. Being a student is compulsory."

"Elizabeth," Minato sighed. "This isn't school. This is college, and the studies are far more rigorous."

Elizabeth puffed her cheeks. "What are you insinuating?" she narrowed her eyes at him. "I am well versed in world history and mythology."

"What about maths and sciences?"

"I have you to guide me!" Elizabeth retorted with a sweet smile.

Minato scowled. "I don't know much myself."

"Not to worry, I'll give you a shoulder-" she stopped, mulling over her words. "Shoulder... Leg..." Souji choked on the drink, struggling to hold his laughter. "Hand, ah yes, I, Elizabeth will give you a hand."

Minato's brow twitched but before he could retort, Mitsuru stepped inside the dorm, greeting everyone.

"Senpai..." Minato sighed, thankful she had returned.

"Senpai!" Elizabeth repeated, tossing Minato to the side and running towards the red haired female. "I have a request."

Mitsuru nodded with a smile. "Please, go on."

"Aww man," Minato stood up and groaned as Elizabeth explained her fond wish to Mitsuru who was actually contemplating the request.

"Senpai," Souji tossed the empty can to the side. "You're in for an even more rougher ride."

"Thank you," Minato deadpanned once again.

"Very well," Mitsuru nodded at Elizabeth, looking impressed and proud. "You will be giving the entrance exam, along with Minato." the Messiah groaned as Mitsuru turned towards him.

"Minato, I leave it up to you to prepare Elizabeth for the upcoming entrance exam. It will be held tomorrow and I expect both of you to score the highest!" Minato watched with wide eyes as Elizabeth gave a very troll-ish smirk and skipped up the steps, leaving him speechless.

Souji tried his best to block the laugh since Mitsuru was talking. He gave reached out and patted Minato on the back.

"Senpai, she's like 3 years old! Think of the awkward situations she could get into," Minato reasoned.

"Yes, despite being rather uneducated she still wants to attend college. Elizabeth has a thirst for knowledge and I respect that," Mitsuru silenced him. "I leave it up to you."

Minato groaned and resigned to his fate. "Fine!"

"Splendid," she looked over at Souji. "Seta, help him prepare."

"You got it," Souji nodded and pulled out a book from his backpack. "Come on M-i-n-a-t-o," he said slowly, without the honorific, teasing him like Junpei teased Akihiko. "I'll help you study."

"You," Minato sighed once again and went up the stairs along with his successor. The two males found Elizabeth reading manga on the second floor lounge. She regarded them with another smile.

"Shall we?" she asked cheerfully.

Minato grumbled and snatched away Souji's cellphone who was amused. He dialed a few numbers and sat on the bench. "I called for more help," he looked over at Elizabeth who was holding the manga upside down. "God knows we need it."

Souji even called over his friends to help the two prepare for the test. The students swarmed Minato and Elizabeth with countless notes.

"So," Yukari asked. "Do you get it?"

Minato rubbed his chin, his eyes taking in the information from the notes. "Integrate and..." he trailed off. "Yeah, got it."

"Quite," Elizabeth nodded sagely. In truth, she didn't know jack.

"Pass me another slice!"

"Don't spill on my notes,"

"Is this over yet?"

Minato groaned at the multitude of voices, calling everyone was a bad idea. "Okay, I'm done."

"Are you sure, senpai?" Yukiko asked. "You still have a couple of sections left."

"I'll study myself," he replied.

"Don't come to me when you fail," Junpei said.

"Hahaha," Minato deadpanned and pulled Elizabeth away but it didn't do much as Elizabeth refused to budge. She ended up pulling him back and made him sit on the bench once again.

"Such a lively environment," Elizabeth commented. "Please, explain the next question."

...

The next day, Minato woke up early and went over the notes that his friends had left him. He looked out the window to observe the sun slowly rising. "Well, time to ace exams..." he looked back at the numerous medals and trophies. "Like always."

Minato pulled on the hood he was wearing and went out. He had to be careful, he was dead to the rest of the world and walking into public wasn't such a good idea. He stepped into the lounge to see Elizabeth waiting for him.

"Ah," she smiled. "Good Morning."

"Morning," he greeted back. "Are you ready?"

"Are you?"

"Yeah,"

Elizabeth giggled. "Then I am prepared as well."

Minato could see where this was going.

Mitsuru took the two college prospects to the campus and wished them good luck. Minato was impressed by the building, it was even larger than his old school and that was saying something. "Gekkoukan College..." he said aloud. "Senpai sure gave it a shine."

Next to him, Elizabeth released a dreamy sigh. "A place of learning," she repeated. "Please, make haste, I cannot wait for the academic phrase of my new life." it was hard not to smile at her, especially with the joy evident in her tone.

"Okay, good luck," and the two walked inside the campus. They were soon guided to a large hall on the second floor. A number of other students were present as well. Minato brushed his bangs to the side and pulled on his hood once again, he knew a few of them. The invigilator made them sit and passed them the question sheet.

Minato spend the next 5 minutes analyzing the questions. Nothing too difficult. He gave a sidelong glance at Elizabeth and was impressed to see her confident, until she flipped the page and her expression shifted to panic. It was mathematics.

Minato shrugged and started writing.

The male students were busy gawking at the former attendant but she brushed it off and started writing as well.

Elizabeth quickly wrote down the answers. The first section was entirely about Mythology and Elizabeth was well versed in that subject. She aced the questions and flipped the question sheet over, the next section was Japanese History.

Being a fanatic for the outside world, Elizabeth had read countless books regarding history and because of that, she had no problem with the section. She struggled with the dates but was satisfied by the end.

Minato was writing down furiously. This was easy.

Elizabeth gulped at the complex numbers and questions on the third and final section. She had no idea how to start. The silver haired female looked around the hall but was told by a invigilator to keep her head low, which she did so, not wanting to be disqualified.

Minato was feeling a little sad but this was to be expected. College was tough after all.

Elizabeth nearly squeaked when the invigilator yelled at her to keep her head down. "This won't do.." she muttered.

Minato felt a bit of SP swirling around the place. He looked up from his desk to observe a spark on the other side of the hall.

Elizabeth gave another smirk and clicked her fingers, setting off an explosion on the other of the hall. Minato's head snapped back to Elizabeth as the invigilator whipped around to see flames on the other side of the hall, nothing too serious but that needed attention.

"Oh my!" Elizabeth said dolefully, putting her hands on her cheek. "Such carelessness. I cannot fathom how accidents like this can happen in a place of knowledge!" she sounded disappointed and worried but Minato saw it through. He was right, Elizabeth was a huge troll.

"I-I'll take of it," the invigilator fumbled over his words.

"Make haste!" Elizabeth cried. "You are putting our safety at risk which in turn puts your livelihood at risk."

The teacher nearly tripped but ran out of her sight. Elizabeth gave another smirk and snatched away Minato's answer sheet, quickly copying what he had written.

"Hey!" the blue haired student protested but he shrank back to his seat with a light blush when Elizabeth silenced him by blowing a kiss. The attendant smiled and furiously kept writing, the end was near but the flames were already taken care of.

"Taken care of," and the invigilator had returned, causing the two to panic.

Elizabeth snapped her fingers once again and this time, the explosion happened outside of the hall.

"What is going on here..." another student said aloud as the teacher ran out of the hall once again.

"I cannot believe this," Elizabeth said loudly, making sure that the teacher could hear her. "What type of a institution is this? Unpredictable and dangerous."

"Give me back my sheet," Minato grumbled.

"I shan't!" Elizabeth grinned from ear to ear, copying the final question before tossing the paper back to Minato.

"Why you-" the Messiah growled.

"Thank you," Elizabeth blew him another kiss and Minato mumbled something under his breath before going silent.

The invigilator came back, panting hard. Elizabeth smiled at him. "I have completed my examination." the other students cheated as much as Elizabeth did so they really couldn't pick on her, especially not when Elizabeth smiled sweetly at them, giving them the hint to remain quiet.

Elizabeth stood up from her seat and dusted her jeans off. "I believe we are done," she turned around. "Shall we go?" she asked Minato who sighed and nodded.

"Velvet, oh velvet," Elizabeth sang as she made her way out. "My maaaaaster has a laaaarge nose.."

Minato had to admit, her voice was incredibly pleasing to listen to.

"Hey!" the rest of his friends ran over to them as soon as the two stepped out.

"How did it go?" Souji asked.

"I'll pass easily," Minato smiled.

"Awesome!" Chie clapped, looking over to Elizabeth. "What about you, Elizabeth-san?"

"I look forward to attending class with you all," she gave a smile to Minato who groaned.

"Let's celebrate then!" Junpei fist pumped. And the group of persona users set off towards the Mall.

"Thank you, Minato-kun," Elizabeth tugged on his sleeve and gave him a warm smile.

"..." Minato finally smiled, this was nothing compared to what she had done for him. "No problem, Elizabeth."

The day ended on a happy note as Mitsuru informed that both of them passed the test with high scores and they would be attending college from tomorrow. Minato and his friends celebrated for a while before returning back to the dorm.

... Save for Hamuko yelling about the water on the third floor.

* * *

 **I had this nearly completed so just had to add a few more words and voila, 6th chapter is done. Elizabeth is a troll, reason why she is the most loved character in p3. :P You guys voted and because of that, she'll be attending college alongside Minato.**

 **As always, please review us your thoughts. Means a lot to us.**

 **See you soon, hopefully.**


	7. Waterworks

"I will take care of it," Mitsuru nodded at the blue haired male.

"From the looks of things, many students of high school are in the same college, so..." he trailed off. "Me walking around without an explanation will surely cause a panic."

"I understand," Mitsuru said.

"What happened exactly?" Minato asked. "I mean, the day I died. What happened? Who else knows?"

"We told your other friends that you slipped into a coma," Yukari replied. "We were still hoping that you would return some day again so we kept the death a secret from most of them."

"Yeah..." Junpei scratched the back of his head. "Um, you actually did slip into a coma and then passed away a few days later..." the capped male continued. "The other persona users... they know since they caught Hamu-tan yelling a couple of times."

"You didn't tell them, right?" Minato gulped. "Besides them, right?"

"No..." Akihiko said slowly. "We told no one..."

"That's good," Minato breathed out. "An announcement is in order then, I guess..."

"Indeed," Mitsuru gracefully walked away. "I'll see you there," with that, she left.

Minato released another deep sigh. "Well, first day in college..." he looked back to Elizabeth who was bouncing in joy. "Let's get going then.." this all felt so nostalgic to Minato, walking along with his friends to school. Junpei and Minato engaged in another battle of wits which resulted in a few ungentlemanly jokes which caused Yukari to lash out and Fuuka to blush. Akihiko came between them to stop Yukari from slapping Junpei who ended up teasing her once again.

However, this time, they had a few more people added to the mix.

Yosuke joined in the battle of wits and laughed along at the jokes and snark.

Souji rolled his eyes and played the guardian along with Akihiko.

Elizabeth didn't get a whole lot of what was going on, but the yelling surely added a few more words into her rather lacking personal dictionary.

...

Minato pulled on his hood and quickly followed Junpei into the principle's office as the rest went ahead, giving Elizabeth a tour of the college. The platinum blonde female was ecstatic, not minding the attention she was getting from the male student body.

"Hey!" Akihiko snapped at a couple of gawking students. "She's new here. Get lost!" all of them knew the badass boxing champion from high school and so they quickly scurried away.

Yukari sighed. "Elizabeth," she warned. "You might wanna stay with a friend at all times..."

"Oh I shall," Elizabeth nodded. "I shall remain with Minato-kun, at all times."

"Hahaha," Hamuko laughed. "Good choice, he'll keep you safe for sure."

"That is the auditorium," Aigis explained and moments later, the PA system blared, ordering everyone to move into the auditorium.

"Well," Souji said. "Seems like senpai made his way to the back, let's go, yeah?" the rest nodded and went aside.

...

"This is so freaking weird," Minato pulled out his hood and panted. "I got butterflies in my stomach!"

"Dude, chill out!" Junpei calmed him down. "This is your moment. I see loads of waterworks going on here."

"Rightfully so," Minato muttered, peeking through the curtain as Mitsuru made her way onto the stage.

"Good Morning!" Mitsuru's voice was cool and authoritative as it always was.

"Welcome back to life, bro!" Junpei held his fist up. "Good old days."

"Hell yeah," Minato fist bumped.

...

"Why is she here?"

"A special announcement?"

"A tuition cut for the previous students?"

"She still looks wife material,"

"Geez,"

The gossips continued as Mitsuru mulled over her words. "Silence, please," she said coldly, shutting everyone up in the hall. "I apologize for the abrupt announcement but there is something I'd like to tell you all, especially the previous students of Gekkoukan Highschool."

"Eh?" Kenji blinked.

"For us?" Kaz said.

"Most of you might remember a transfer student by the name of..." Mitsuru quieted down. "Minato Arisato." Youske and Souji felt the tension and suspense rising in the hall. Some students looked teary eyed, some looked hopeful.

"Damn," Yosuke whispered. "Dude, the entire place just got shut down."

"I told you before," Souji smirked. "He has that charisma."

"No kidding..." Yosuke blinked as someone poked him from behind.

"Hey!" and he got poked again.

"Who the hel- oh, Chie," the mahogany haired male sighed. "What do you want?"

"Such a polite greeting," the brunette mocked. "Where are your manners?"

Yosuke grumbled under his breath.

"What's the special announcement?" Yukiko asked Souji.

"Oh, that?" the gray haired male shrugged. "Well, Minato Arisato returned from the dead." he said casually but immediately regretted it as the two girls looked ready to scream.

"Shit," Souji covered Yukiko's mouth with his hand as Yosuke did the same to Chie.

"Souji," Yukiko blushed as the gray haired male pulled away.

Chie bit on Yosuke's finger but the male managed to stop himself from yelling out.

"Dammit, just listen and please..." Yosuke trailed off.

"Keep quiet during this all," the two females nodded at Souji and sat back on their seats.

"... Charisma, huh?" Yosuke mumbled.

"As many of you know," Mitsuru said. "He slipped into a coma nearly 3 years ago."

"Dammit," Minato said from behind the curtain. "3 years..."

"I see blue," Hamuko announced, seeing a little bit of blue behind the curtain.

"Students and teachers..." Mitsuru said slowly, nearly causing a couple of people to yell out due to suspense. "Minato Arisato..." she trailed off to a whisper and the students grew more restless.

Elizabeth smiled fondly, Minato really had a huge impact on people around him. "Bonds..."

Minato took a deep breath and pulled away the curtains. He stepped forward and walked his way onto the stage with his head held high. Minato slowly took his steps and came into the view of the hundreds of student as utter silent prevailed in the hall.

Mitsuru smiled. "... has awakened." she announced as Minato stood next to her with a small smile.

...

... and soon, the silence was utterly smashed.

The collective scream of the student body was deafening and it nearly blew the roof off the place. Minato widened his smile as the students body starting cheering very loudly. Some of them were clueless as they didn't know who the hell the blue haired male was, but damn near every student of Gekkoukan High School recognized Minato as soon as he stepped into the stage.

"Wow..." Yukiko whispered as most of them students around her stood up.

"Wow, indeed," Souji smirked as a couple of students ran onto the stage, not minding that Mitsuru was standing very close.

"..." Yosuke stood up and ended up clapping. Chie followed him.

Yukiko giggled and clapped along.

Souji looked back to see Toriumi-sensei sobbing quietly to herself. "Heh." he shrugged and joined his friends.

Minato was swarmed by familiar faces, Kenji, Kaz, Yuko and other students they had met nearly 3 years ago. Most of them yelled at him before giving him a tight hug. His personal space was getting utterly smashed but he didn't mind it one bit. At first he usually did the Social Link for power but as time went on, he truly began to appreicate the bonds he had forged and he was overjoyed that everyone remembered him.

Minato looked through the crowd and found Elizabeth standing alongside his friends. The former attendant looked a little teary eyed but she ended up giving Minato her trademark grin which made the Messiah grin back.

"It's good to be back..." the savior said softly as he looked around, observing the crying faces of his former friends.

The ear splitting ruckus continued on and Mitsuru allowed it for a while until she finally stepped in and told the students to get on the seats, which they did after some pressing, but the gossips continued.

Minato went closer to the mic. "It's real good to be back. Thank you." with that, he walked away backstage to another round of cheers.

Mitsuru laughed. "Well, he said everything I needed to say. That is all." the redhead dismissed the students but most of them ran backstage to meet up with the blue haired male once again.

"Amazing..." Hamuko muttered. "The place went crazy!"

"That's Minato," Yukari laughed. "Like I said, he had quite the impact on people."

"I never expected this," Akihiko chuckled. "Nearly split my ear drum but damn, that was awesome."

"Quite," Elizabeth stood up from her seat. "Shall we get going?"

"Eli-chan, you okay?" Hamuko asked. "Your eyes look red for some reason."

"I am quite alright, thank you," Elizabeth bowed and walked away.

"... she does have a heart of gold," Akihiko repeated Junpei's comment from earlier.

"HEY!" Hamuko ran after her. "You'll get lost like this!" and the rest followed.

"Thank you man, I appreciate it!" Minato bowed slightly at the student.

"Yeah, no going back now," he assured another one and kept walking.

"Thank you!" Minato yelled back at someone.

The Messiah stopped at the notice board and smiled as Elizabeth was already there, her golden eyes scanning the board for the schedule. "Minato-kun!" she finally noticed the blue haired male and cheered.

Minato smiled at a couple of students and made his way over to Elizabeth. "Hello."

"You had such a heart warming reunion with your friends," Elizabeth recalled. "Nearly rendered me to tears once again."

"Like you and Igor told me," Minato replied. "Bonds... are everything."

Minato grasped her hand and gave it a squeeze, causing the female to blush faintly. "Come on, we've got the same class." he dragged her away and Elizabeth let out a squeak once she realized that it was mathematics class.

The entire class gawked at Elizabeth as she stepped inside and bowed at them. Minato followed next and the students cheered. The Messiah was pleased to see that the rest of his friends were there as well... including Akihiko.

"Class, please welcome our newest student," the teacher introduced the former attendant as she stood near the podium.

Elizabeth bowed once again. "Elizabeth Fortuna." she said softly, causing some boys to wolf whistle.

"Where would you like to sit?" the teacher asked.

Elizabeth scanned the hall and giggled slightly. "I would like to sit next to Minato-kun." the class oohed at her words and Minato sighed. This had happened before with Yukari but he wasn't mad. His life was finally back on track and he was sure that nothing bad could happen now.

...

Theodore sighed at the dense silence that prevailed in the Velvet Room. Usually, the room was quite lively thanks to a certain platinum blonde female but she was gone... and all that remained was a stern elder sister who had a chip on her shoulder.

"Even Master Igor," Theo whispered, looking back to Margaret who was sitting on the chair, her face stoic.

"Um, sister," Theo said slowly. "Where is Master?"

"It is not your place to question, Theodore," Margaret said, a little too harshly.

The male quieted down. Margaret was a little angry ever since the spat with Elizabeth.

Margaret opened the compendium and flipped through the pages in complete silence. Theodore sighed once again and looked towards the door of the Velvet Room.

"Do not do anything that you will regret," Margaret warned, snapping the male back to his senses. "I am warning you."

"Yes, sister," Theodore said slowly, nodding his head as Margaret disappeared, leaving him alone in the Velvet Room.

* * *

 **#Charisma.**

 **Anyway, review if you liked it or something.**

 **Later!**


	8. Brief Details

Minato face-palmed at the repeated groaning coming from beside him. The Messiah looked to the side to observe Elizabeth mumbling something under her breath as the maths teacher kept harping on and on about numbers and formula.

"What is this..." Elizabeth questioned, peeping at the book laid in front of her. "EEP!" she covered her eyes, as if they were burned. "I don't even..."

"This is college, Elizabeth," Minato replied and then had a mini freak out when Elizabeth was about to snap her fingers. "NO NO! No more explosions in the college, please."

"Awwww," Elizabeth pouted.

...

And the days passed on peacefully, without incident. Elizabeth was slowly getting adjusted to human life, however there were times when she stood back in a corner with a sad smile on her face whenever the groups started talking about old times. Minato noticed it but didn't decide to force her, she'd open up at her own pace.

There were also rumors of the college organizing a field trip somewhere. It was up to the higher ups to decide.

"Say, Minato," Junpei started as the two were walking back home after college. "When are you going to spill?"

"Spill what?" Minato asked, popping off his headphones.

"You know, our whole history?" Minato frowned. "The Dark Hour business to the juniors."

Minato shrugged. "I'll do it when they tell us their history."

"I can't wait to hear that for some reason," Junpei fist pumped. "It had something to do with a TV though."

"TV is evil, especially with people like that rip off Tanaka going around," the Messiah smiled slightly, remembering the useful 'life lessons' he learned from the middle aged man back in the day.

"Wait..." Minato stopped and looked back. "Where the hell is Elizabeth!?"

"Oh hell!" Junpei whipped around and ran.

Events such as these had became a norm as Elizabeth had a terrible sense of direction for some reason. She routinely got lost on the way back to the dorm and it was usually Minato who busted his behind to search for her.

They finally found Elizabeth aimlessly walking around the back alley. Minato gave her a scolding and dragged her back to the dorm. College was tiring enough and problems such as these were not welcome at all.

"Get in," Minato ordered and Elizabeth gingerly made her way inside the dorm. Minato followed and slammed the door shut a little too loudly.

"Hey, stop bullying her!" Hamuko snapped, observing the two from the couch.

"Bullying?" Minato arched his eyebrow. "I'm scolding her so she won't do it again."

Hamuko rolled her eyes. "You can't expect her sense of direction to change because of your scolding."

"I can try," Minato shrugged.

"Elizabeth, aren't you supposed to be some incredibly powerful entity?" Hamuko fixed her eyes on Elizabeth who nodded. "Well, do something about him. Don't let him scold you like this."

Elizabeth bowed her head. "I apologize but I am certain that Minato-kun exceeds my power by quite a wide margin now." she gave a sidelong glance to the blue haired male. "I am still quite exhausted..."

Minato softened his gaze, she just had to remind her. The Messiah sighed. "Alright, fine. I'm sorry..." he grabbed her wrist and dragged her upstairs. "Come on, I"ll draw you a map so you won't get lost."

Elizabeth gave a wink to Hamuko as she went upstairs.

"She's a troll," Hamuko chuckled, going back to her notes.

...

"Alright, so you go south and then..." Minato had to admit, he was kinda bad at giving directions himself, despite living in Iwatodai for over a year.

Elizabeth giggled, amused by his mistakes.

"Don't do that,"

Elizabeth giggled again.

Minato sighed and waited for someone to come up the stairs.

"Yo," Souji stepped into the second floor lounge and greeted his two seniors.

"Oh, good!" Minato breathed out. "Souji, help Elizabeth get a hang of the directions."

"Elizabeth-san," Souji sighed. "I have a question."

"Yes?" Elizabeth smiled. "Please ask away."

"You ignored me before but..." Souji trailed off, a smile decorating his features. "How is Margaret?"

Minato noted that Elizabeth's mood always took a nosedive whenever Margaret was mentioned. The former attendant stood up and dusted her skirt off. "Souji-san," she sighed. "Please refrain from mentioning my sister in front of me."

Souji was a little taken back. "W-Why?"

"She and I are not on good terms," Elizabeth informed. "So, please... Do refrain."

Minato bit his lip. It probably had something to do with Elizabeth freeing him from the seal.

"... What happened?" Souji asked.

"I do not wish to speak any further on this subject, now if you'll excuse me," Elizabeth started walking away but Souji was getting restless. Was Margaret alone? Was she even okay? These questions were spiraling around his psyche.

"Elizabeth-san, wai-" Souji tried to yell but he was interrupted.

"Hey," Minato stopped him mid-sentence. "Don't push her."

Souji looked back and met Minato's stern gaze.

"..."

"..."

"Whatever," Souji stalked off. Minato leaned back on the couch and let out a sigh. He was worried about the whole situation as well but he wasn't going to pry in their private affairs. They were siblings after all, surely they could work something out.

"Time heals all wounds..." still, he was a little curious himself as to what happened between the two sisters. But he wasn't gonna ask Elizabeth about it anytime soon.

Another explosion sent Minato crashing to the ground. "Aww shit!" seemed like Elizabeth lost her cool once again.

...

Souji was idling around the mall. He really had nothing to do since he had done the assignment days ago. He needed some fresh air after what had happened in the dorm. "Margaret..." he exhaled loudly.

"I can't believe it," Souji gritted his teeth. "I can't believe I forgot the damn key!" he was in such a rush to get into college that he forgot his Velvet Key back in Inaba. He didn't really pay attention to it much until Elizabeth arrived. Just looking at her made the Fool reminisce about his time with Margaret.

"Minato started his Journey here, there must be some kind of door to the Velvet Room, there has to be," Souji mused. Looking around wouldn't do much since he didn't have the key anymore.

"..." a light bulb lit inside his mind. "... He must have one." it made total sense. Minato was a guest of the Velvet Room as well. He probably had that key. He lived in Iwatodai for the entire duration of his adventure, he likely had the key with him.

"I really can't be thinking of stealing it," the gray haired male furiously shook his head. "I ain't stooping that low, no matter what." seeing nothing else to do, Souji headed into the arcade, hoping to blow off some steam.

...

"You gotta be kidding me!" Hamuko yelled. "A trip to some freaking village!?"

"Not exactly a village," Mitsuru corrected. "It was a village not too long ago but has experienced a tremendous amount of growth in the past new years."

"What's the name, senpai?" Chie asked, flipping her cellphone open. "Let me see."

Mitsuru thought for a second. "The name is rather dicey... I don't exactly remember it myself."

Chie shut down her cellphone with a disappointed groan.

"We'll see for ourselves soon," Minato said. "I hope we don't have to stay in mud huts though,"

Mitsuru laughed slightly. "Don't worry. The college has arranged for the best hotel in the entire city."

"Wasn't it a village?" Yosuke asked.

"You said a village at first," Junpei nodded.

Chie and Yukari sighed.

"It WAS a village at first, morons," Hamuko snapped. "God, do you two even pay attention!?"

"Chill out, Hamuko," Minato sighed, Hamuko was quickly showing her old colors, hot tempered and quick to annoy. "We all get a laugh from this all."

"Well, I don't," Hamuko pouted. "Hey, Eli-chan, you'll be going too, right?"

Elizabeth smiled. "Of course. What else would I be doing?"

"Awesome!" Hamuko fist pumped. "This will be fun. I can tell already."

Yukiko elbowed Souji and the Fool nodded slightly. "Uh, senpai," Mitsuru looked at him, gesturing him to continue. "Can we invite a few of our friends too? I mean the trip will be for a few days, right?"

"Be my guest," Mitsuru nodded. " But the responsibility falls upon you."

"Thanks!" Chie bowed.

"When will be going then?" Minato asked.

"Next week," Mitsuru replied. "I hope this ends well for all of us."

"It sure will," Minato yawned and stood up. "Well, I'll be turning in for the night. Night guys!" he waved and made his way up the stairs.

"Senpai, wait!" Minato stopped as Souji came up the stairs. "I have something to ask."

Minato turned around. "Yeah?"

"Uh," the gray haired Fool looked around awkwardly for a few moments. "Uh, do you still have the Velvet Key?"

Minato reached into his pocket and pulled it out, making Souji blink a few times. Yep, same key that he got. It wasn't a fake one either.

Minato pocketed it once again and smirked. "Guess that answered your question. Good night."

There was a pregnant pause. "Good night, senpai."

The two bid farewell to each other and went into their separate rooms. Just as Minato's head hit the pillow, his cell phone beeped. The blue haired male groaned and flipped it open to see a message from Mitsuru.

"Tsukigata Village," he read aloud.

Minato closed his cell phone and shifted his position, quickly drifting to sleep.

* * *

 **Sorry for the long delay, like always, motivation and all. And we're finally getting to the actual storyline. It will really start during the trip, major shit will happen and you will like it.**

 **Also, we are deciding on the courses, if you guys have any opinion what major suits the characters then do let me know.**

 **Review if you liked this. Later.**


	9. Knackered

_Why did everything take so much paperwork...? Bureaucracy was something she'd have to work hard to lower in her school..._

 _Or she could hire some part time workers to take care of that and stop doing everything by herself. That was an option, as well._

 _With a sigh, Mitsuru leaned back on her chair. Even booking and organizing a field trip was a pain with how many processes she had to sign. She could only imagine how much she'd spent sitting on that chair if that deal was to be made between her and the Tsukigata Archaeology college._

 _..._

 _..._

 _The older man sat back on his chair and crossed his legs. After taking a sip of the rather expensive coffee, he continued. "And as such, I believe this to be a grand opportunity to better the education in yet another part of this country. As you know, even though the growth has led to astonishing numbers in social indicators, people there still have to travel quite far to get into a college of their interest, well, aside from archaeology, history and geography. The mayor has already agreed to grant whatever concessions are necessary to ensure that the deal is beneficial both for the village and the Kirijo, so I believe it to be in your best interest to consider this proposal."_

 _Mitsuru glanced at him from her own chair. It surely seemed as if there were no downsides to the deal, whatsoever. She'd be able to expand the Kirijo brand to a rapidly growing town, which is seeing a massive increase in economic power, she'll contribute to that town's educational system by implementing more functions to the campus there with little to no drawbacks or even risks..._

 _Which was why that seemed so fishy._

 _Don't get Mitsuru wrong... she'd love to strike a deal so beneficial to her and the society of that city... town, but she couldn't shake that feeling deep inside that something was wrong._

 _Maybe she was all too used to betrayal. Perhaps she needed to learn how to trust people. Or she could try to secure a way to see whether the deal was a fluke or not. She had all the tools in the world to react in case someone tried to trick her, for God's sake._

 _Perhaps she'd need to talk to the mayor about that. See about all the details. She wanted everything to be under control._

 _Hm... she'd never been to that town, and she doubted lot of the students have. Maybe that was an opportunity for a culture exchange. She knew she wouldn't miss such chance if presented to her._

 _Finally having decided on an answer, she replied. "I understand the benefits of the proposal, but I'd like to have a talk with the authorities of your town so we can both exploit the full potential of this partnership. I'd also like to ask whether it'd be possible to take the students here for a trip there. I heard that the exponential growth of the town didn't cut the ties with the traditions it previously had, so to come in contact with such balance would an amazing experience, in my opinion."_

 _The earnest smile the man wore grew wider at her response. "Of course! This will also be a grand experience for the students there. Please do arrange this event for whenever possible. I'll be sure to prepare the school for it, as well."_

 _"Excellent. I'll make to keep in contact with your school. Were there any other matters you wished to discuss?"_

 _"No, no, that is all. Forgive me for taking your time." The man replied as he shook his head, before standing up. He was rather tall... Mitsuru had a hard time understanding the reason he carried a cane around, if his posture was so correct for a man his apparent age. Regardless, she stood up as well._

 _"Don't mention it. It was a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Flynn." Going by his name, she decided to offer her hand for a shake, which he took._

 _"Pleasure was all mine, Ms. Kirijo. Until we meet again."_

 _..._

 _..._

 _All that, and she still had to ascertain the locations they were going to visit. She gave a thorough look at the place's geography... so many places picked her interest, she was not sure they would have time to go through all of them. The culture in that place was really well preserved... all kinds of traditional places and structures were very well maintained, from the old shrines to the inn in the center of the town. The ecosystem was also left almost untouched. The place's administration surely seemed to have made a great job._

 _She was sure the students would enjoy spending some time there._

 _She wished she could be so sure about her meeting with the authorities there._

 _..._

"Finally!" Minato sighed, standing at the entrance of the vehicle. "We've made it!" he cried.

"Get moving, bro!" Yosuke yelled, pushing Minato from behind, sending the Messiah stumbling forward. Minato managed to retain his balance and avoided being face-planted but the moment his feet touched the ground, the young male felt a pressure on the back of his head.

Minato blinked, the weight had already disappeared but it was bizarre.

"You were blocking the entrance," Yosuke said, standing on the steps of the vehicle.

"Y-You could have asked," Minato muttered, shaking the weirdness off. Soon, Yosuke was pushed by Souji since he was blocking the entrance as well. The brunette stumbled forward but unlike Minato, he ended up hitting the ground as Minato was in no mood to help/catch him after the stunt he pulled.

"Ow..."

"You were blocking the way," Souji said with a chuckle, stepping down the steps. "Huh?" much like Minato, the gray haired Fool felt something hit the back of his head, causing his vision to blur momentarily. Souji placed a hand against the bus to maintain his balance and soon enough, the feeling was gone.

"Dude, are you okay?" Yosuke said, getting up.

"Yeah, just bus-sick or something," Souji said, standing upright once again.

"Hm," Minato was about to comment but at the very moment, students came rushing out of the bus, overjoyed that the long and exhausting trip had come to an end. "Well..." Minato merely stood at the side as student after student jumped out of the bus before quickly dispersing to other areas.

Souji and Yosuke just waited for the rest of their group to come out but that took a while.

Junpei was the first one out, followed by Akihiko.

Yukari and Fuuka were next, followed by Aigis.

Chie and Yukiko came out next.

Finally, Hamuko let out a squeal of excitement as she jumped down the steps and Elizabeth was the last one to get out. "Ah," the former attendant let out a sigh. "Such a marvelous sight..." the city was indeed marvelous, almost matching Iwatodai and its infrastructure.

She couldn't wait to explore the city.

Elizabeth's vision blackened completely the moment her feet left the steps, the female released a small shout of pain as her body went limp.

"What the!?" Hamuko yelped, Elizabeth's face was gonna hit the ground if she didn't regain her balance. Elizabeth was still out of it, this had never happened before, just a single step into the new city caused her to yell out in pain.

Minato pushed away Akihiko and Junpei who were standing in front of him and caught Elizabeth before she could hit the ground. He froze momentarily when he came into contact with Elizabeth.

Elizabeth's body was cold for some reason, too cold actually.

...

Was she dead?

...

Elizabeth let out a small sigh and Minato's pale face regained color. "..." that was frightening. Minato still held onto the female as the rest quickly gathered around the two.

"Are you okay?" Chie asked worriedly.

"Y-Yes," Elizabeth gulped, wiping her face clean of the sweat. "I apologize..."

"What happened to you?" Hamuko went closer and placed her hand against her forehead, she didn't have a fever. "You just... went limp the moment you were about to step out..."

"Yes, I..." Elizabeth trailed off, what DID happen really? This had never happened before, she knew what pain was but this was something else, it was almost like the sea of her soul was blocked momentarily.

"Whatever it was," Minato checked her forehead as well, just to double check. "I hope it doesn't happen again."

"Man, that made me sweat," Junpei smiled nervously, sweating profusely for some reason, it was a scare but he was sweating buckets for some reason.

Yukiko felt her insides churning, Elizabeth was safe and all but something was starting to make her feel sick.

Minato finally let go of Elizabeth and helped her stand up. The Messiah looked around the faces of his friends and most of them were pale.

"Are you guys okay?" Souji caught it too, everyone looked way more fatigued than usual.

"Heh, we should hit the hotel and rest," Akihiko suggested. "The trip was long after all."

"Yeah," Minato nodded, looking towards Hamuko and Yukari. "You guys mind helping Elizabeth?" the females nodded but Elizabeth held out a hand to stop them.

"Don't worry, I'm quite alright now," she gave a broken smile and separated from Minato. "See? all nice and dandy."

"Be careful then," Minato took out his hanky and clean his face from the sweat. Wow, the bus was haunted or something. "Well, let's go then.." the rest of his friends nodded and together, they started making their way towards the entrance of the city.

"Man..." Yosuke groaned to himself. "I'm so tired..."

"I wanna sleep already," Junpei thought to himself, his muscles lacking the usual energy.

The group noticed a crowd gathered not too far away, standing at the end was an old man with a prominent bald spot and thick rimmed glasses and a fancy business-suit. He was grinning, a grin that made the persona users shiver one by one.

Next to him stood Mitsuru who looked weary.

Minato coughed into his fist and made his way towards the crowd and the rest of his friends followed him.

"Welcome, one and all, to Tsukigata town." The older man started once he called everyone's attention. He didn't need to do much, it was already the scheduled time for him to show up. But some people did wander off to see the view from up the hill, so gathering everyone took just a bit more time than planned. "My name is Flynn and I am delighted to see so many students here."

Minato looked back to check on Elizabeth, she was standing but looked out of breath.

"Are you okay?" Souji whispered to Yukiko who was shivering.

"I'm feeling sick for some reason," Yukiko coughed. "Is it just me or is the weather kinda chilly?"

"It is..." Souji nodded, but as he looked around... the rest were looking fine.

"Glad Kanji and Noato didn't come..." Yukiko said. "They wouldn't have enjoyed this at all."

"It'll go away," Souji said. "The trip was long..."

The older man continued with his speech. ""... landmark. The Fukuroku Inn has a room ready for everyone of you, or for a group, if you'd like. There are indoor hot springs so you can have a relaxing bath, everything is set for you all to have the greatest of comforts during your stay here."

Not even hotsprings made the males excited since they were tired to the bone already.

"Tomorrow we will be making a tour around the school, where we'll have many attractions such as workshops and expositions on many things pertaining the city's and even other country's cultures. Do feel free to explore the city's various locations during your stay. The people will be more than happy to receive you. Each of you will receive a map of the town and a folder describing and telling a little about everything there is to this former village. With that said, here's hoping you all can enjoy your time here. Thank you." With that, Flynn ended his pronunciation.

And the other students dispersed once again as Flynn walked away. Mitsuru sighed and made her way towards the persona users. "Good evening.." she said, but her voice was lacking something.

"Man, senpai, what drug did you hide under the bus," Junpei took his cap off. "I'm beat.."

"..." Mitsuru's brow twitched. "I hid no such thing."

"That trip took a lot out of us," Yukari struggled to speak as she coughed some more.

"I am feeling a little..." Aigis trailed off, her baby blue eyes were not as bright as they usually were. "Odd..." the android said.

"Elizabeth nearly injured herself!" Hamuko yelled. "I'm telling you guys, there is some demon here or something!"

"She what?" Mitsuru widened her eyes. "Are you okay, Elizabeth?"

"Y-Yes," Elizabeth gave a broken grin. "I feel a little odd as well but I'm fine, no worries."

"You look a little pale yourself, senpai," Fuuka observed, Mitsuru looked more pale than the rest.

"I was discussing something with Flynn-san for the past few hours and I feel quite tired," Mitsuru said. "A good rest will hopefully help."

"The old man was Flynn? the dude who invited us here?" Souji asked.

"Yes, he was waiting for everyone to gather so he could direct you towards the inn," Mitsuru explained. "I suggest you all head over to the inn and rest for a while..." she took a pause. "You do not look healthy at all."

"Achoo!" Hamuko sneezed. "Indeed, can we go? I want to sleep."

"Man, this city is so full of joy and stuff," Junpei yawned. "But we'll see tomorrow..."

"Just a small trip towards the inn," Yosuke assured. "Come on, we can make it there..."

Mitsuru turned on her heels. "I will be joining you shortly. Take care." she walked away quickly and the rest managed to catch a little stumbled in her steps.

"Well, we should get moving," Souji advised. The others nodded and started walking away.

"Hey," Minato said, walking beside Elizabeth. "How are you feeling?"

"How are YOU feeling, my dear guest?" Elizabeth sighed.

"..." Minato ran a hand through his sweaty hair. "Not too good..."

"I feel exactly the same," Elizabeth pouted. "It seems like I've summoned my persona over and over again!"

"..." Minato blinked. That was actually spot on. "... Wow..."

"Yes?"

"It does feel like I've used up all my SP," Minato said.

Elizabeth chuckled. "This is quite odd," she said. "I've never just blackened out like that, that was just a simple step and yet.."

"Yet you feel absolutely knackered, yes?" Minato sighed. "I have to tell you, I felt something at the back of my head when I touched the ground..."

Elizabeth opened her mouth.

"Souji felt it too, I'm sure," Minato said. "He leaned against the bus for a couple of seconds."

Elizabeth bit her lip. "I'd like to know the cause but..." she let out a deep sigh. "But I'm a little too exhausted right now." she stumbled forward once again but Minato caught her like last time.

"Ooops," Elizabeth blushed.

"You can lean," Minato suggested, walking slowly so that Elizabeth could use him for support.

Elizabeth's blush intensified. "Thank you.."

"Heh," the inn was not too far away. "Finally..."

The inn was quite large, larger than Amagi Inn as Yukiko pointed out. The team didn't have anything left by the time they reached the inn so they quickly retreated into their rooms. The females headed to their rooms while the males quickly changed into their night-wear and crash landed on their sacks.

"Oh man!" Junpei groaned, taking his cap off. "When was the last I was this sweaty!?"

"Not since the good old Tartarus days," Akihiko sighed, taking a sip of water from his bottle.

"We're the only ones here," Souji noted, the rest of the students were out, exploring the city and doing something productive, unlike them.

"Who gives a shit, man?" Yosuke yawned. "I'm totally knackered."

"Yes," Minato nodded. "Only us..."

"..." Souji rubbed his chin.

"Only persona users,"

Souji nodded. "Yeah, the rest look fine actually which is weird..." he was thinking the same actually. "Aren't we the ones with special cardio?"

"Elizabeth pointed this out but it feels like we've abused our personae," he looked at Junpei and Akihiko. "You guys remember that feeling, right?"

Junpei nearly puked. "Don't remind me that, this is too much!" he cried.

"... You're right," Akihiko nodded. "All the sweating, fatigue and nausea.."

"What does this mean then?" Yosuke raised a brow.

"Well, let's hope it means nothing at all," Minato laid back on his sack. "Because we're here to relax, lets just hope this will all wash away tomorrow."

"Seconded!" Souji cried. "One adventure is enough for me, thank you."

"Well said," the rest said in unison.

The persona users went to sleep but they didn't get a good sleep either, Minato and Souji woke up many during the nights, out of breath and sweaty. They were dead tired so they instantly went back to sleep only to be plagued by nightmares in their sleep.

"Ugh," Minato clenched his fist. "Nyx..."

"... Izanami," Souji groaned, turning on side.

On the side of the females, Elizabeth woke up from the tenth time that night, thoroughly annoyed by the weird phenomena. "Must not start a fire..." she murmured, looking at the faces of the other females. Everyone had a smile... except for her friends.

"Elizabeth?" Hamuko said weakly.

"Yes?" the platinum blonde female sighed.

"You should sleep," Hamuko said with one eye open. "It's nearly morning..."

Elizabeth laid back and tried to sleep once again and she did so... and like before, she found herself in another nightmare.

* * *

 **Talk about a shitty trip, hahaha. Anyway, hello readers. I'm sorry for the wait but had a bad case of writers block. Big thanks to Raidou 16th for the help, couldn't have done this without him.**

 **All persona users get fucked over, looks like the god like entity ain't happy for some reason. Why? Just read and find out.**

 **My writing is a little rusty but I hope you enjoyed this since the real story finally begins now. The village and its mysteries, along with Flynn and other bad stuff to come.**

 **I'm happy with the favs and follow but I'd really love a few reviews, might boost our motivation.**

 **I hope to see you guys soon. See ya later.**


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